At approximately 7:15 A.M., on Friday, February 24, 2012, the Columbia Township Police Department, as well as Columbia Township Rescue, was dispatched to the intersection of South Brooklyn Road and Daugherty Rd.
for a bus and a van that had collided at the intersection.
The Columbia school bus was traveling southbound on Brooklyn Road, as a 2008 Chrysler Town and Country Van was traveling northbound. The bus driver began making a left-turn onto Daugherty Road, directly in front of the northbound van, and the two vehicles collided, with the right-front corner of the van striking the right-front corner of the bus.
At the time of the accident, the roads were slightly covered with slush and snow. The road is straight at that intersection, with a clear and level line-of-sight northbound and southbound. The speed limit in that area is 55 mph.
No students on the bus were initially reported injured, although one student (11 year old female) was later transported by ambulance from Columbia Middle School to Allegiance, complaining of pains.
The van was occupied by a 44 year old mother (driving) and her three children, ages eleven, fourteen, and seventeen. All occupants were wearing their seatbelts. All three children in the van were taken to Allegiance Hospital by ambulance with minor injuries, or complaints of pain.
Both vehicles were disabled by the accident, and had to be towed from the scene. The students on the bus were loaded on to another bus, and were then taken to school.
There was no evidence of excessive speed for either the bus driver or the van, and the driver of the bus was cited for failure to yield the right of way.
