MARQUAND GIRLS INJURED WHEN THEIR BUS IS STRUCK BY VEHICLE

PATTON -- Two Marquand girls were injured Friday afternoon when the school bus they were riding in was struck by a skidding tractor trailer rig.

April Grindstaff, 5, and Stacey Long, 8, were transferred to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau with minor injuries. The accident occurred at 4 p.m. on Highway 72, six miles west of Patton.

A Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman said the eastbound bus, driven by Harold Sidham, 51, of Patton, was stopped to discharge passengers. The westbound truck attempted to stop and skidded across the roadway, striking the bus, the spokesman said.

The driver of the truck, James Lane, 32, of Brookfield, Mo., was cited for failure to drive on the right side of the road.