A collision between a public school bus and a pickup truck in Suffolk, Virginia (VA), sent six children and one adult to the hospital. The crash occurred on Nansemond Parkway near Milum Road on the afternoon of March 23, 2015. Treated for non-life-threatening injuries were children traveling home from Nansemond Parkway Elementary School and the bus driver.
Police did not release details on why the accident happened or which of the drivers appeared to bear responsibility for causing the wreck. Photos from the scene show a narrow two-lane rural highway with almost no shoulder and bordered by deep ditches. Without further information, it is possible that the truck and bus sideswiped each other or that the truck rear-ended the bus as it slowed or stopped to let off students.
Two conclusions that can be drawn from the Suffolk crash are that drivers can make few mistakes on roads that literally leave little room for error and that school buses require as much space as possible to operate safely. People using the stretch of Nansemond Parkway where the crash occurred likely do so multiple times each day. Such familiarity can lead to lapses in attention, driving above the speed limit and disregard for dangers. Wandering even a foot over the center line while a large vehicle approaches from the other direction sets the stage for an almost guaranteed collision, however.
The second scenario holds true on every road everywhere. Drivers must yield to busses, stop when buses do and exercise extra caution in school zones and around bus stops. Failing to do so leads to thousands of child injuries — and, sadly, about a dozen deaths — each year.
EJL