Eight injured in bus accident

BERTRAND, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Missouri, woman and seven children were injured in a two-vehicle accident involving a school bus Wednesday morning in Mississippi County.

The accident occurred at 7 a.m. on Highway 62 in Bertrand, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. An eastbound Charleston school bus driven by James L. Stone, 52, of East Prairie, Missouri, was coming to a stop to pick up students and was struck in the rear by an eastbound vehicle driven by Ashton N. Fisher, 18, of Sikeston.

Fisher received serious injuries and was flown to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

These students suffered minor injuries and were taken to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston: Brian A. Birdwell, 5; Veronica Birdwell, 7; Aalyah Coopwood, 12; Brianna J. Gephart, 10; Araya A. Tipler, 9; Dakota P. Wright, 12, all of Bertrand; and Sierra L. Myers, 13, of Charleston.