There were multiple crashes involving a school bus Monday across various areas of central North Carolina, specifically in Johnston and Halifax counties.
Just before 7:30 a.m., a school bus was involved in a crash in Johnston County, but no students or drivers were injured. The crash occurred at the N.C. Highway 50 and Sanders Road intersection, involving a school bus and and a red SUV.
Surveillance footage from 4042 Motor Sports from across the street showed the bus attempting to turn left at the intersection while the SUV was driving on the opposite lane. Both seemingly attempted to make the yellow light that was about to turn red.
None of the nine students on board the bus, which was headed to McGee’s Crossroads Middle School, were injured.
Then in Roanoke Rapids, the fire department posted on Facebook early Monday morning that a school bus was on fire in the area of 10th Street and Mills Street. No children were on board and no one was hurt.
The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department has not released a determined cause of the fire. Ralph LeGrand, owner of Buck’s Fire Extinguishers Sales and Services, said most fires on school buses start in the engine.
“That’s where the turbos are, where the majority of the heat in these buses are,” LeGrand said.
Then, in the latest school bus crash around 3 p.m., the North Side Fire & Rescue in Johnston County shut down Covered Bridge Road between Pritchard Road and Payton Drive due to a crash involving a garbage GFL truck.
The school bus may have crossed the center line into the path of the garbage truck, and while the driver did all he could to avoid a collision, the two vehicles struck each other on the left front.
There were no children on this bus as well, and the drivers from both vehicles were not injured.
Photos from the North Side’s Facebook post showed the front of the bus was severely damaged, with the left tire completely torn off. A GFL dump truck was seen at the scene of the crash.
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the accident, and charges are pending.