No Poplar Bluff R-I students were injured in an accident shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of 11th Street and West Pine Boulevard.
A passenger in a 2007 Ford Edge was transferred to the hospital emergency room by EMS, according to officials.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Dille praised the Poplar Bluff police, firefighters, EMS and school staff who responded to the accident.
“We’re thankful for the quick response of the officers, and the professionalism of everybody involved,” Dille said. “We received a report that one of our buses had been involved in a traffic incident, our people responded quickly, calmly and professionally.”
All the students were transferred to a new bus with a new driver.
Dill said, “We made personal contact with each family and ensured all those students got home safely.”
R-I Director of Transportation Jon McKinney said the bus had students from the middle and junior high schools on it and had just left the junior high school when the accident occurred.
“It was not at full capacity,” McKinney added.
Poplar Bluff Police Capt. David Sutton said, according to the police officer’s report, the bus was southbound on 11th Street just north of Pine. An orange 2007 Ford Edge was westbound on Pine. The bus turned west onto Pine, into the path of the passenger car and the passenger car struck the bus.
The bus and the Ford Edge were in the parking lot of Commerce Bank when Poplar Bluff firefighters arrived at the scene.
According to the report by Battalion Chief Roy Lane, fire crews were told no one was injured on the bus. They checked the people in the Ford Edge. The driver was not injured but the passenger had a small cut on the right arm, which firefighters bandaged. Butler County EMS transported the passenger to the hospital.
School officials oversaw some of the students being transferred to another bus while others were picked up at the scene by their parents.