Two High Ridge Elementary School students and a bus driver for the Northwest R-1 School District sustained minor injuries Friday afternoon (Jan. 22) in a crash involving two school buses on Hwy. PP west of Hwy. 30 in High Ridge, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The two buses were transporting students home when the accident occurred, High Ridge Elementary Principal Heidi Mackey said in a written statement.
At 3:35 p.m., Michelle L. Kelly, 41, of High Ridge was driving a 2014 IC Bus east on Hwy. PP and stopped for a yellow light, and Joseph D. Morrow, 53, of St. Louis, driving a 2016 IC Bus, allegedly was following too close and could not stop in time, so the front of the 2016 bus struck the rear of the 2014 bus, the report said.
Two students – a 9-year-old High Ridge girl and a 10-year-old House Springs girl – had minor injuries. The 9-year-old was taken by North Jefferson County Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, and the 10-year-old was treated at the scene, according to the report.
Kelly also had minor injuries and was taken by North Jefferson County Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South, the report said.
No injuries were reported for Morrow.
The two drivers wear wearing seat belts, but the students were not wearing them, the patrol reported.
The 2016 bus was extensively damaged, and the 2014 bus was moderately damaged, the report said.
The High Ridge Fire Protection District, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and emergency medical crews responded to the scene of the accident, and all those involved in the accident were evaluated at the scene, Mackey said.
She said Durham School Services, the Northwest School District’s bus provider, sent two more buses to the scene to take the remaining students home. Some administrators rode on the bus with the students, who were home by 5 p.m., Mackey said.
In addition, some families picked up children at the scene and took them home, she said.
“We want to reiterate that the safety of your children is our primary concern, and we will continue to do everything in our power to keep them safe and healthy, Mackey said.