Car driver dies in collision with bus

9/2/2010

PORT CLINTON - One person was killed and two were hurt Wednesday afternoon when a Port Clinton City Schools bus collided head on with a car on State Rt. 53, just north of State Rt. 2, in Ottawa County, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

The driver of the car, Diane Lau, 36, of Gibsonburg, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to troopers from the Sandusky post.

No children were aboard the bus. Troopers said Ms. Lau's northbound car went left of center on Route 53 at about 1:30 p.m. and smashed into the southbound bus.

The bus driver, Rayanne Smith, 34, of Port Clinton, and a school paraprofessional, Michelle Barnett, 41, also of Port Clinton, were treated for minor injuries at Magruder Hospital. 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, Port Clinton schools Superintendent Pat Adkins said.

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.