Two kids unhurt in bus crash
Accident is first with
passengers on board this year
By ELLIOTT WALKER
Two Rockbridge County school children escaped injury Thursday when the driver of a Chevrolet Cavalier struck the stopped school bus they were in on Irish Creek Road.
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“I saw him coming,” said bus driver Terry Evans, who was also unhurt. “That’s why I stopped. The state trooper told me if I’d have [moved] over any more I’d have gone over the embankment.”
State police charged William Humphries Jr., of Vesuvius, with reckless driving. Humphries, who also was uninjured, said he was late to his job and was driving down the mountain road at 30-35 miles per hour.
The impact of the crash badly dented Humphries’ rear driver side’s door and blew out the window.
Only two students, brother and sister Hayley Blankenship, 8, and Jarrod Blankenship, 15, were on the bus at the time. Hayley Blankenship is a student at Fairfield Elementary. Jarrod Blankenship attends Project Pride.
Immediately after the crash, Evans went to check on her students.
“That’s my first concern,” she said, “the kids’ safety.”
Hayley Blankenship said she was scared, but she was excited about the prospect of being late to school.
“I might just miss the morning or something,” she said.
Damage to the school bus was minor, said Scott Hannah, director of Career & Technical Education and Transportation Services for Rockbridge County schools. It should be back in service in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Evans will use a backup.
“It’s our first accident with students on board this year,” Hannah said. There was an accident last year involving an activity bus coming back from a baseball game, he said. No students were hurt in that accident either, although the bus driver broke her hand.
Like many in the county, Irish Creek Road is narrow and winding. Evans has been driving school buses for 12 years, but her husband forced her to quit for two years because road conditions were often hazardous.
Evans said she got stuck on a sheet of ice in the middle of Irish Creek one week and was forced to back down the mountainous road. The next week she got stuck in six inches of snow.
Thursday’s accident left her a bit shaken.
“I’m OK,” Evans said. “But after this is all over I’ll probably sit down and cry.”
"I’m OK, but after this is all over I’ll probably sit down and cry.”
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd