13-year-old receives minor injuries in school bus crash on Route V

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been changed from the original reporting to reflect that the bus was not a Nell Holcomb bus. Emergency personnel at the scene originally told a Southeast Missourian reporter the bus belonged to the Nell Holcomb district, but later corrected that statement.

A 13-year-old boy received minor injuries Tuesday when a school bus rolled onto its side on Route V a few miles from Oriole.

The accident occurred around 4 p.m. when the vehicle's tires edged onto the shoulder and the driver, Carolyn Walther, overcorrected.

The bus belonged to Durham School Services of California, Mo. Durham has contracts to transport special-needs students for the Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts, said Dwayne Kirchhoff, East County Fire Protection District chief.

Kirchhoff said at the scene that three people had been on the bus: the driver, a bus monitor and the 13-year-old.

"We're just thankful that we didn't have a busload of kids," Kirchhoff said.

A cell phone picture taken by Southeast Missourian reporter Erin Hevern shows a bus on its side following a crash on Route V Tuesday.

The child was taken by ambulance to a Cape Girardeau hospital, and the driver and bus monitor were taken by private vehicle to a hospital to be examined.

Walther and the bus monitor, Aleada Curry, said they felt fine, although Walther had a few scratches on her face.

The East County Fire Department, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and an ambulance responded to the accident.

The crash is the second bus accident in Cape Girardeau County in less than a year.

On April 8, a Nell Holcomb school bus carrying 35 students was struck by a Ford Focus that crossed the center line on Highway 177. The early morning accident occurred as the bus was approaching the school with a full load of students.

The accident sent 12 students to Saint Francis Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. None of the students required hospitalization. One student has filed a lawsuit against the driver of the Focus, Randall Hunerkoch of Metropolis, Ill., as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. A hearing in that case is set for Thursday in Cape Girardeau before Associate Circuit Judge Peter Statler.

Hunerkoch did not receive a traffic citation as a result of the crash. He was hospitalized for several days after the accident.