Monday, June 22, 2015

Close Call On Final School Day

AFD ambulance escorted new bus returning children to Fort River Elementary School

Amherst Police and Fire personnel responded swiftly this afternoon to multiple 911 calls reporting a school bus with children careening into a utility pole on Henry Street, North Amherst with live wires down in the roadway.

The first ambulance on scene quickly reported what everybody waited breathlessly to hear:   no injuries.


A mass casualty incident would have overwhelmed AFD as they had two ambulances out on other medical calls at the time, so only four responders remained to handle the bus accident, two on the ambulance and two on Engine 2. 

Dispatch called Eversource (formerly WMECO) requesting a "Priority One Response" to the scene and they too arrived post haste.  The schools sent a second bus to pick up the 18 children and return them to Fort River Elementary School. 

Police shut down Henry Street to allow the electric company to initiate repairs and Amherst Towing came to retrieve the bus, which had front end damage.

School Facilities Director Ron Bohonowicz was also called to the scene and from initial reports it sounded like there could have been a mechanical problem with the bus.  The bus was a contract bus operated by "Five Star," and not one of the town owned buses.

The bus was in the final leg of of its route (Schools had a half-day), about 20 minutes from completion when the accident occurred.  The driver was not cited at the scene. 


8 comments:

You could care less about your own kids. said...

Bohonowicz?

Why'd they call him to the scene and not Peter Crouse?

After all, Crouse is the "Transportation Coordinator".

LOL!

Either way, neither of these chimps gives a shit about safety.

Never have, never will.

Bah, whatever. What do I know?

-Squeaky Squeaks

p.s. Fail.

Anonymous said...

Any Audio or Webcam from the newly installed spyware? lol

Walter Graff said...

I was working in a home on Pine St and witnessed the bus heading from North Amherst Center on Pine towards Henry St and have to say it seemed like it was driving far faster than it should have. The kids could be heard shouting as it passed. Not long after a Police SUV with sirens blaring followed the same path.

Anonymous said...

Actually this bus doesn't travel on Pine Street Walter so the bus you saw was a different one. I know because my child takes this bus everyday. Everything was handled professionally by everyone involved.

Anonymous said...

Wow, the schools are still in session this late? That's just wrong.

Anonymous said...

Driver is responsible for driving vehicle with mechanical problem.

Scraping a pole (or taking it down) turning a corner is fairly easy.

A head on collision with one, that takes some doing....

Anonymous said...

Been waiting for that one pole to be hit for years. Just a matter of time.

Anonymous said...

They call em snow days. Buy now-pay later.