GILROY
– A Gilroy student and three others were injured when a school
bus carrying 32 middle school students rear-ended a van on a U.S.
101 on-ramp Tuesday evening, according to the California Highway
Patrol.
GILROY – A Gilroy student and three others were injured when a school bus carrying 32 middle school students rear-ended a van on a U.S. 101 on-ramp Tuesday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The accident occurred at about 6 p.m. as the Gilroy Unified School District bus was traveling on the Blossom Hill on-ramp to southbound U.S. 101. Randy Russell, 42, of Hollister was driving the South Valley Middle School students home from an athletic event in San Jose.
As the bus approached a metering light, Russell failed to slow down or stop the bus and struck the back of a white 1998 Dodge Caravan that was accelerating from the light, the CHP reports.
The driver of the van, Tracy Allen Cox, 33, of Gilroy, was also returning to Gilroy from the athletic event, according to Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
A South Valley student on the bus, whose age was unknown, complained of head pain after the accident and was transported by ambulance to Santa Teresa Hospital in San Jose, according to the CHP. She was treated and released.
Cox, the driver of the van, and two juveniles also sustained injuries and were taken by private party to nearby hospitals. One 8-year-old child was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital and the driver and another child were taken to Kaiser Santa Teresa Hospital.
All the injured passengers were treated and released, said CHP Officer Terry Mayes.
“A replacement bus was dispatched within 15 minutes of the accident, and all the students were transported back,” Diaz said. “We had some district staff that was available when parents came to pick up their students to give information.”
South Valley Principal Paul De Ayora drafted a letter to parents Thursday to inform them of the incident.
CHP is still investigating the accident and neither driver has been cited. Diaz said the district will review the CHP report before deciding what action, if any, to take against Russell.
“It’s still pretty early, so that will be turned over to the transportation supervisor for a recommendation,” Diaz said.
This was the second accident involving a GUSD school bus in three months. In December, a bus carrying learning-disabled students was broadsided by a semi-truck after the bus driver reportedly ran a red light.
