Students sent to emergency room after Poplar Bluff bus wreck

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Nine students from the Poplar Bluff School District were transported by ambulance following a bus accident Thursday afternoon on Route NN, but none were seriously injured, school officials said.

Superintendent Chris Hon provided information on the two-vehicle accident during the monthly school board meeting later that day.

All 15 students on board were taken to the emergency room at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center after the bus was struck in the rear while off-loading children, he said. They were from grades five through 12.

"There were no broken bones or wounds, but some kids had some bumps," Hon said. "Nobody was hurt, but there will be some kids sore."

The accident occurred at 3:15 p.m., two miles east of Poplar Bluff.

Driver David P. Wilson, 43, of Poplar Bluff had stopped the northbound 2005 Bluebird when the bus was struck in the rear by a northbound 2001 GMC, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The GMC was driven by 38-year-old Brittney D. Darlin, also of Poplar Bluff.

The report states the following students were transported by ambulance with minor injuries: Taylor D. Bennett, 13; Alexander S. Collins, 17; Taylor R. Frazier, 16; Dylan Hopple, 11; Haley D. Joy, 14; Mavick E. Lerma, 11; Nathaniel D. Smith, 13; Christopher Treaster, 12; and Sabastian Treaster, 10.

School administrators and school resource officer Andy Cleaveland responded to the scene, said Hon, who met parents at the emergency room following the accident.

Hon praised the hospital for its help.

This was the second time in a week a vehicle struck the rear of an R-I school bus, Hon said.

On Nov. 10, a vehicle struck a bus transporting fifth- and sixth-graders at the rear tires as it traveled along an outer road. The bus was mostly full, Hon said, but no students were injured in that accident and it was able to complete its route.

"We take the safety of the children on our buses very seriously," Hon said. "We need to be diligent and we need drivers to be aware of buses and our bus stops."

Another bus had to be pulled out of the ditch Thursday morning after getting stuck in the mud along a soft shoulder on County Road 305, Hon said. The driver had moved over to allow another vehicle to pass.

The bus was about halfway through its elementary route and students were transported by another bus.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO