NORFOLK — A Norfolk Public Schools bus driver was charged with failing to yield on Friday afternoon after she allegedly hit a truck, injuring five people.
Four students and an adult were injured when a bus carrying 42 Academy for Discovery at Lakewood students hit a white truck at the intersection of E. Olney Road and Lincoln Street around 1:45 p.m., said Norfolk Police Department spokeswoman Melinda Wray.
Police are unsure if the bus rolled through the stop sign at E. Onley Road, but said the impact made the truck spin out of control.
Four students were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. The truck driver was also taken to a hospital after complaining of neck, back and hip pain. He is expected to recover, Wray said.
Seventh grader Janae Munn, 12, said she was sitting in the back of the bus when the crash happened. Janae described the impact as a loud thud that jerked the students forward.
Her father, John Munn, said his daughter used her cell phone to call him from the bus.
“All of the kids were screaming the background,” Munn said. “That’s not a call you want to get. It shows how precious time with family is.”
Another student, 13-year-old Maddox Crowe, said he believes the bus driver rolled through the stop sign as the car was driving through the intersection.
“[The car] flew to our right… and the wheel popped off,” he said.
Maddox’s mother, Katrina Crowe, said she is “livid,” adding that some of the children may be scarred after seeing the truck driver taken to the hospital in a neck brace.
Maddox added that he’s scared to get back onto a school bus and is thinking of skipping next Monday’s field trip to Virginia Beach Adventure Park.
Wray said police will not release the name of the bus driver because she is charged with a misdemeanor violation.
Mayfield can be reached at adrienne.m@wydaily.com.
