|
|
| Serious injuries avoided in bus crash on Hwy. 85 South By JOHN MUNFORD Seven school children from Whitewater Middle School were injured when the school bus they were riding in pulled out in front of a pickup truck on Ga. Highway 85 South Wednesday afternoon, police said. None of the injuries were serious, but the driver of the truck was taken to the hospital, said Gordy Wright of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident because the driver of the pickup truck, Michael Burkdoll, 45, is a deputy with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. Burkdoll’s 1996 Ford F-350 struck the driver’s side of the bus, which was driven by John Imperato, 68, of Fayetteville. The truck plowed under the bus and forcing the hood of the truck to compact back to the windshield, witnesses said. Traffic on the highway was slowed for a while as medics evaluated the students for possible injuries. No charges have been filed in the accident, but the investigation had not yet concluded, Wright said. A contributing factor to the wreck was that the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, according to the GSP report.
| ||