Words: Corey Grable
Contributors: Sarah Yang, Bushra Lohrasbi, Maryam Elhabashy, Madhu Lal, and Diane Ijoma
On the morning of September18th, morning traffic was heavily backed up due to an accident involving a school bus that was transporting students to Centennial. A car driven by an adult female, an educator within the county not affiliated with Centennial, struck bus number 218 from behind at approximately 7:00am. Principal Claire Hafets said many students described the accident by saying, “It felt like they were running over a squirrel.”
The accident caused the bus to break down and become stranded directly in front of the traffic channel that controls the flow of cars into the Centennial parking lot. Officer Perry received the call and was the first person on the scene around 7:03am, and Hafets, Mrs. Miller, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Steve quickly followed him to ensure students’ safety and to re-direct traffic around the bus.
Fortunately, no students or the driver of the car were hurt in the crash. The students were safely escorted from the bus and into the school without incident. “I’m very proud of the students on that bus and the way they behaved,” said Hafets.
The bus was not damaged in any significant way besides a little chipped paint, but the car’s hood was damaged. The cause of the crash was a lack of speed control from the car, according to Officer Perry.
