Seven children, two adults injured in Fulton County bus accident

8/25/2010

DELTA, Ohio — Seven students from Swanton school district and three adults were hurt Wednesday afternoon when a Swanton school bus and tractor-trailer collided in Fulton County's York Township, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

The collision was reported just before 3 p.m. at U.S. 20A and State Rt. 109, which is just west of Delta.

The tractor-trailer was traveling south on State Rt. 109 and failed to stop at a red light at the intersection, hitting the bus that was eastbound on U.S. 20A, said Lt. John Altman.

The Swanton Local Schools bus carried students who attend class in Wauseon. All seven youths and the bus driver were taken by ambulance to Fulton County Health Center in Wauseon. Troopers described their injuries as not life threatening.

The Highway Patrol identified Ed Kinsman as the driver of the tractor-trailer. Mr. Kinsman, age unavailable, was airlifted to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo from the health center. His condition was serious Wednesday evening.

The tractor-trailer was operated by K & L Trucking, which has an office a quarter of a mile from the crash scene. Tom Ramey, head of maintenance for K & L, said Mr. Kinsman has worked 10 years for the company without problems.

"He's a very good person, he's got a clean driving record, I was shocked," Mr. Ramey said. "It's just a bad deal because trucks get a bad deal, and this was really bad because it was a school bus."

The accident remains under investigation and no charges have been filed.