Brakes, Lights on Crashed Bus Operational, Findings Indicate
Posted
Joe Boals-jboals@timesuniononline.com
NORTH WEBSTER – The brakes of the rear school bus involved in Wednesday’s four-bus accident were operational, findings from Indiana State Police investigators indicate. ISP investigators found skid marks on the pavement from the rear bus involved in the accident near North Webster, according to First Sgt. Chad Hill, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department public information officer. The skid marks indicate that the breaks were functional, according to Hill. Preliminary findings also showed that all lights were functional on the buses. The investigation is still ongoing, and ISP investigators will still have to calculate the speed of the bus and other factors in the crash. Wednesday afternoon’s bus accident sent 56 students and drivers to area hospitals, 50 of those at Kosciusko Community Hospital, according to Joy Lohse, KCH spokesperson. A fifth person was treated at IU Health Goshen after the first four, and the driver of the rear bus, John R. Wagoner, were airlifted to Parkview Memorial in Fort Wayne, Hill confirmed. Tom Edington, Wawasee Schools superintendent, stated one Wawasee High School student was transfered to Fort Wayne Lutheran Wednesday night as a “precautionary measure.” No names of students have been cleared for release. “All drivers have passed drug screenings as required with their commercial driver’s license and Wagoner’s condition is improving,” Edington said. Edington also stated investigators are reviewing tapes from the front two buses involved in the accident. The rear two buses are older and were not equipped with cameras, and Edington added that the video quality of the second bus wasn’t clear. The investigation is ongoing with the ISP, Indiana Department of Transportation and KCSD.
