1 killed, 3 injured when school bus collides with car in Port Clinton
9/1/2010PORT CLINTON — At least one person was killed and three others were hurt Wednesday afternoon when a Port Clinton City Schools bus collided head-on with a car at State Rt. 2 and State Rt. 53 in Ottawa County, authorities said.
The names of the victims were not immediately available.
No children were aboard the bus at the time, and the person who was killed was believed to be the driver of the car, Ohio Highway Patrol said on the scene of the crash.
The bus driver and a school paraprofessional on board were treated for minor injuries at Magruder Hospital and will likely be released late Wednesday, Port Clinton City Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins said.
The accident was reported about 1:35 p.m. Wednesday, and two ambulances and a medical helicopter were called to the scene.
The bus was en route to pick up students in Genoa who attend an alternative school in the district, Mr. Adkins said.
"According to authorities on the scene, our driver doesn't appear to be at fault," Mr. Adkins said. "He did everything he could do to avoid an accident but unfortunately wasn't able to do so."
The school used its emergency alert system to tell parents their children were safe, Mr. Adkins said. The bus was severely damaged in the crash, and cannot be driven.
"It could have been very bad," Mr. Adkins said of the crash. "It was a significant impact. We're very fortunate that we didn't have students on that school bus."