MONDAY – Last week on October 28th, 7:42 AM, four SAS school buses were involved in a traffic accident. According to the email sent to parents by Emily Sargent-Beasley, Bus #137 first stopped abruptly in order to avoid crashing into a bicycle in the traffic lane. The bus behind was #199, and it had sufficient time to stop. But, buses #126 and #153 behind the first two did not have enough time to stop. “All buses incurred some level of damage, including broken windshields.” However, no injuries were reported from the incident.
Grace Liu ’22 was on bus #137 when the incident happened. “I was trying to sleep and then I heard a jolt because our bus suddenly hit its brakes. Then, 3 seconds later, the bus behind us crashed into us.”
Emily Dai ’21 was on bus #153. “We were almost at school and almost everyone was asleep when it happened,” she said. “The bus monitor checked in with us after the crash. After a few minutes, bus #149 arrived.”
Transportation Supervisor Henry Zhu clarified this information. “Two backup buses were sent to pick up the students and send them to school.” He assures that no students were injured in the accident.
There is a standard protocol that is activated when bus accidents occur. “Normally when there are no injuries, students should stay on the bus until backup buses arrive. If there are any injuries, we will find the nearest hospital and send students there, or we will dial the local SOS number to call an ambulance,” said Zhu.
Bus drivers involved in the incident and taking direct responsibility of the accident will be met with penalties. “We have an agreement with the bus company that any incidents caused by the drivers will not be able to work for SAS anymore,” said Zhu.
“Not all of them were responsible for the accident. Only the last two were responsible.” Zhu affirms that from that Monday afternoon, the two drivers will be terminated from service.
Sargent-Beasley assures parents that the bus incident will be divulged and clarified. “We will engage in a complete inquiry and will respond to any additional information in a timely and professional manner.” She emphasizes that student safety is the school’s priority, and urges parents to contact the transportation office with any further questions or concerns.