Scary local accident involving school bus
Published on June 8th, 2005
At least six children and one adult were transported to area hospitals last Friday after a Tewksbury resident reportedly ran a stop sign and slammed into a school bus at the intersections of Pomeworth and Williams Street.
According to police reports, 38-year-old Tewksbury resident James Spring Thorpe, of 133 Heritage Drive, failed to see a stop sign at Pomeworth Street and rammed right into a Mystic Valley Regional Charter School bus on Williams Street at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
While the State Police's accident reconstruction team is still investigating the cause of the crash, local police officials have issued Thorpe three incident-related citations, the specifics of which couldn't be confirmed as of press time.
In addition to Thorpe, who was transported to the Lahey Clinic for unspecified injuries, four of the Malden Charter School's students were treated for minor injuries at Winchester hospital. Two other of the bus's children were transported to Melrose-Wakefield hospital as a precautionary measure, according to fire department officials.
"I guess a pick-up truck ran a stop sign and hit a school bus," said Stoneham Fire Captain Ed Regan, who responded to the accident scene. "We worked really well. We all went down together, and treated them, and transferred them."
"There were eight children on the bus, and one person had just been dropped off on Williams Street. There weren't really any serious injuries. Of course, the pick-up truck driver was hurt, but I believe he was released later that day," the Fire Captain added.
Ranging from 5-to-12 years of age, the eight charter school students included two Stoneham residents, four Wakefield children, and two Winchester residents. Although police reports are unclear as to which students were hurt in the collision, the injured included at least one six-year-old from Wakefield, one 10-year-old from Wakefield, and one 12-year-old Winchester resident.
While the Superintendent for the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School didn't return several calls from The Stoneham Independent for comment about the conditions of the students involved in the crash - none of whom appear to be from Stoneham - Regan characterized the children's response as "pretty good" considering the nature of the accident.
Noting that the accident scene could have been a lot worse, the Fire Captain added that a mixture of fortuitous circumstances might have prevented a different outcome. Specifically, the school bus was pushed directly into a utility pole during the collision, a normally undesired crash occurrence that just may have prevented the children's vehicle from tipping over from the force of the Tewksbury resident's 1998 Ford pick-up truck.
"What happened was the bus was actually tipping [over during the crash]. Maybe it would have gone over, maybe it wouldn't have, but it leaned against this pole and up-righted itself," Regan explained.
In the aftermath of the crash, which reportedly led to Williams Street being temporarily shut down Friday afternoon, emergency responders contacted NSTAR to examine the utility pole, which didn't appear to have sustained any damage.
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