School bus hit by truck during stop near Owens

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November 14, 2009

By Jean Cole The News Courier Sat Nov 14, 2009, 05:38 PM CST

Every day in Alabama, 1,000 motorists fail to stop for school buses with their red lights flashing.

Most of the motorists emerge without causing an accident.

A motorist who rear-ended a truck and a Limestone County school bus Friday morning was not so lucky.

The school bus, loaded with 11 students, was heading south on Alabama 99 when it stopped north of Owens and about eight miles north of Athens about 6:53 a.m. after picking up a student, said Limestone County Transportation Director Darryl Adams.

A white, 2008 pickup truck driven by Charles Brown Jr., 41, of Elkmont had stopped behind the bus while the student boarded. Another driver, Bryan Landman, 30, of Quartsite, Ariz., apparently did not see the stopped vehicles and rear-ended the truck with his 2004, red Chevrolet truck, shoving the white pickup into the back of the bus, according to reports. A third motorist, who was driving a Mustang, swerved into a ditch and avoided the accident, Adams said.

“It is what I pray will not happen every day,” Adams said. “But it could have been worse.”

Neither the students nor the bus driver, Traci Daniel, 37, of Athens, were injured.

“One little girl said her cheek was sore, but there was no visible mark, ”Adams said. “She may have bumped it, though. Her mom was there, and the paramedics checked everyone out.”

Landman, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered a bloody nose and injured his arm but emerged from the truck on his own, Adams said.

Both trucks sustained damage, and the white pickup may have been a total loss, Adams said.

Later this month, Limestone County will perform an illegal-passing survey to see how many motorists ignore and pass a school bus with its red lights on. It may seem improbable that 1,000 motorists ignore these legal stop signs, but the number makes sense when you consider how many miles school buses travel each day.

“We travel more than 6,000 miles a day in Limestone County and transport 5,500 students,” said Adams.

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