Stephanie Rothman and Kayla Shepherd
3 hours ago
Granite City, Illinois – Granite City Community Unit School District #9 bus crashed Monday morning, leaving several parked cars with children.
When the bus was picking up students for class, it suddenly collided directly with four cars.
“There were car parts everywhere and glass everywhere. It was just a nightmare,” said car owner Alyssa Wells.
Ms Wells said her boyfriend’s truck collided head-on and sent him flying over the Mustang onto the pavement.
The bus stops only after hitting her second car.
“It was devastating and very scary to walk out in front of screaming children,” Wells said.
The entire front hood of the Mustang hangs with threads. The truck was stripped of most of the driver’s side and a second car was also damaged.
“We’re actually expecting our first child too, so there’s a lot going on, in addition to the medical bills,” Wells said. “It’s stress.”
Her neighbor Nick Warden will also have a child. His car was hit first and was heavily damaged.
“I was finding debris from my car all the way down the block,” Warden said.
The Granite City School District cannot comment on the health of the students on board, but said in a statement:
Our contract carrier, First Student, was involved in a bus accident while transporting students from Granite City Community Unit School District #9 on the AM route on Monday March 20th. The first student is currently investigating the accident. Student safety is our number one priority.
“Having so much money in front of your house and not being able to drive to work is scary,” says Warden. “I can’t take my child to the doctor.”
A police report filed said the cause of the crash was that the student distracted the driver.
A spokesperson for First Student, a bus company, said:
At First Student, nothing is more important than the safety of the students we transport. We, too, feel uneasy about the performance captured in this video. It doesn’t reflect our dedication to safety or the rigorous training our drivers undergo.Initiated protocol to terminate drivers involved in this incident.
“Hopefully they’re a little tired of who’s behind the wheel and essentially putting the lives of these kids in their hands,” Welles said.
Both car owners said their insurance companies had not reached out to them so far and they were now paying out of their own pocket for the damages.
