Stress signs seen among survivors of bus crash

LIBERTY, Mo. -- Eleven-year-old Dylan Sanchez used to enjoy rides in his family's 17-foot motorboat. Not anymore.

Speed reminds Dylan of the morning of May 9, when he was one of more than 50 elementary school students on a bus that crashed and killed two motorists and injured 23 young riders and their driver.

"I get a bad feeling when we start going fast," Dylan said.

A summer off has done little to quell the fears of some children on board the bus that swerved to the right at the intersection and hit two vehicles stopped at a traffic light.

Megan Wilcoxson, 9, had a nightmare recently involving a bus.

She says she's been thinking more about the crash since school is about to start.

"I'm trying not to," she said, "but yes, I do."

Jack DeGarmo is entering second grade at Ridgeview Elementary School, the school Bus No. 80 was traveling to the morning of the crash.

He asked his father recently if he could ride to school each morning by car. When told that wasn't possible, Jack replied: "What if the bus crashes again, and I get hurt worse, or I break my neck?"

For some, the effects of the crash rise above simply fears.

Two young riders were critically injured, according to lawsuits filed by their families. Renna Yi, a fourth-grader at the time of the wreck, is paralyzed because of head and spinal cord injuries. Andrew Hubbard, who was a Ridgeview kindergartner at the time, is expected to have limited mobility after sustaining a severe skull fracture, brain damage, facial disfigurement and internal injuries.

And two motorists were killed in the crash, 53-year-old David Gleason of Kansas City and 49-year-old David Sandweiss of Liberty.

As students return to school this week, Superintendent Scott Taveau said counselors and teachers will look for signs of stress among the crash victims.

They may not have to look far.

Said Dylan: "I basically remember everything that happened."

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com