A Rockwood school bus carrying students from LaSalle Springs Middle School on Thursday morning (Feb. 20) was hit by a utility pole and wires after another vehicle struck the pole on the side of a highway. The accident occurred about 7 a.m. on Hwy. W near Boemler Road in Hoene Springs, said Mike Heyman, the Rockwood School District’s director of transportation.
The bus had five students on it. No injuries were reported for any of the students, Heyman said.
Kristine L. Jones, 35, of Imperial was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox west on Hwy. W, and the SUV went off the right side of the highway and hit a utility pole in the 3000 block of Hwy. W, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The bus was traveling behind the SUV, and because the lines were hanging low over the highway, the bus stopped behind the accident. However, an eastbound tractor-trailer hit the low-hanging wire, sending a piece of the pole and the power line into the side of the bus. Then, the power line came to rest on top of the bus. A side window and a mirror on the bus were broken, Heyman said.
The students and driver remained on the bus while first responders and Ameren employees responded to the accident. After the power was shut off and power line were removed, the bus drove to Eureka where parents picked up their children, Heyman said.
Jones sustained minor injuries in the accident and was transported by the Eureka Fire Protection District to SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
She was wearing a seat belt, the patrol reported.
The SUV was extensively damaged, the report said.
Two homes and a barn were without power because of the accident, an Ameren spokeswoman said Tuesday. She said it typically takes about eight hours to reset a pole and restore power.