School bus gets into crash

CALEXICO — Unsafe driving is being blamed in an accident last month involving a Calexico Unified School District bus that was not certified for use rear-ending another vehicle.

The 7:45 a.m. Jan. 14 incident occurred on westbound Highway 98 near Kloke Road and resulted in the bus hitting a vehicle from behind at a relatively low rate of speed, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Aside from the bus driver and a 43-year female passenger, the school bus was occupied by 25 students ranging in age from 3 to 14 years old, a CHP accident report stated.

Seven students, who were reportedly not wearing any safety harness, reported “possible injuries” but did not seek any immediate medical attention, the CHP report stated.

At the time of the incident, the school bus was traveling westbound on Highway 98 at 10 to 15 miles per hour and was not able to come to a complete stop in time to avoid a collision with a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado driven by a Calexico resident, CHP reported.

Prior to being struck, the pickup truck was traveling at about

5 to 10 mph and had come to an abrupt stop, similarly to other surrounding vehicles, CHP reported.

The collision was determined to have been caused by the school bus being driven at a rate of speed that was greater than traffic conditions deemed safe, CHP’s accident report stated

“(The bus driver) was also found to have an associated factor to this collision for inattention for having her cell phone in hand and taking her eyes off the road to operate it while she changed the music that she was playing in the school bus,” the CHP report stated.

Both the school bus, a 2016 Ford E-450, and pickup truck reportedly sustained moderate damage but were driven away from the scene following the incident.

An onsite review of the CUSD bus, No. 14, determined it was last inspected and certified by CHP for use on March 22, 2017.

“The certificate is only valid for use within the preceding 13 months; therefore it was determined that Bus No. 14 was being driven unlawfully without a valid certificate during the time of this traffic collision,” the CHP report stated.

A total of 26 passengers were aboard bus No. 14, including the 25 students. The bus’ maximum capacity is 25 passengers, the CHP report stated.

Of those 25 student-passengers, 13 juveniles were reportedly secured by child restraints, 11 were not wearing any lap/shoulder harness, while it was “unknown” whether one 13-year-old female had used any safety equipment, the CHP accident report stated.

The collision did not result in the bus driver being cited for any traffic violation at the time of the incident.

District officials declined to comment about the incident.