WARRENSBURG — A motor vehicle collision involving a school bus occurred around 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, at Ridgeview Drive and Charleston Court.
The Warrensburg Police Department states the wreck occurred when the school bus pulled onto Ridgeview Drive, striking a Pontiac Grand Prix.
“All 14 high school students on the bus were evaluated by both district health personnel and the EMT's,” Superintendent of Schools Andy Kohl said in an email to parents.
No injuries were reported for the students.
The WPD reports both occupants of the Grand Prix had minor injuries and were transported by the Johnson County Ambulance District.
“Our students' safety is always of utmost importance to our school district, so we are thankful for the assistance of all those on the scene in ensuring the safety of our students,” Kohl said in the email.
The Warrensburg School District has a contract with Apple Bus Company for transportation services and the responsibility for damages will not impact the district.
Troy Marnholtz, assistant superintendent for support services and director of transportation, said bus routes for students will be unaffected.
“It won’t impact us whatsoever,” Marnholtz said. “Apple Bus has busses on reserve out at the lot, so they have backup busses for activity trips and those type of things. They were able to send another bus over and off-load the kids to complete the route yesterday.”
The bus was towed from the scene.
“(After a bus wreck) we investigate all elements of the accident,” Shawn Woods, Director of Safety at Apple Bus Company, said. “We determine the root cause and we have a progressive discipline policy in place. If it warrants progressive discipline, the first step is identifying root cause and then, if we’re keeping the driver, retrain based on the root cause of the accident.”
Retraining of drivers is root cause-specific and occurs prior to the driver returning to a route.
“We’re still working with Warrensburg PD as we continue to investigate and get all the details of this (wreck),” Woods said.
