The Westport Fire Department, Police Department, EMS and the Norwalk Fire Department responded swiftly, after a school bus crashed into a tree on Sylvan Road North at 8:10 am this morning. The bus was en route to Kings Highway Elementary School.
The scene this morning on Sylvan Road North.
The fire department says that all students had already been removed from the bus by good Samaritans without any complaints of injury.
However, the driver of the bus was trapped by the dashboard and required extrication using hydraulic equipment, by the Westport and Norwalk Fire Departments.
Rescue work today. (Photos courtesy of Westport FIre Department)
The last fire department unit cleared the scene at 9:26. Police are investigating the accident.
Do these buses have seatbelts (for the kids)? My sense is that some do, some don’t. If not, though, shouldn’t that be a requirement?
This crash is a parent’s and grandparent’s nightmare,
Fred Klein’s comment (above). is EXACTLY the question that should be answered by the Board of Education.
any higher resolution pics? i tried three different browsers. its only showing 500×380 resolution…
Josh They posted these on Facebook (Westport Police and Fire pages) and Instagram maybe you can get a be zoom on those sites.
This was the size they came in from the Fire Department.
The photo alone is so terrifying! I’m sorry for the kids and their families. Thank God they sound like they are mostly ok. I hope so! In addition to the seatbelt recommendation, it would be great if they had a device that car insurance companies offer to track the speed the bus is going. Where I live on Cavalry Road, it’s narrow and curvy and I have concern because when I take a walk, I see the buses go by way too fast to control the bus if a car was coming up one of the many the blind hills. If they had some kind of speed monitoring device in the bus, they would be like less likely to go fast. Hope the children continue to be well.
My impression over the years is that there have been a fair number of incidents around here involving school busses. I know our roads are hazardous for large vehicles but I always had the sense that local drivers were not being adequately screened for hiring. The posting gives no information about the circumstances of the crash, but the photo certainly makes it look unforced. I’m glad everybody’s OK.
I want the Westport police and fire and Norwalk and Westport board of Ed any ques likes these Email the rtm and the selectman anybody transit of the rtm meet next thurs night at town hall at 7 or 7 30 bof meets all day thurs and Monday night tell them What you think
If the bus had a hood, like school busses did in Westport when I was in school in Westport in the 50s and early 60s, the driver would have escaped as well. It could also protect students in the front row, acting as a buffer in a frontal crash. Hoods should be required on school busses.
Don’t assume seat belts are the answer. Seat belts are best for head-on crashes in cars – not so good for broadside crashes. A school bus is vulnerable to broadside crashes and the kids there would not benefit from being fastened to their seats. The key to safety in school busses is safe driving. A lot of bus drivers go too fast – are they meeting deadlines or are they just fast drivers?
Peter – this bus crashed head on into a tree so the broadside point is not relevant in this case. Seat belts are proven safety measures in any motor vehicle. Even if you’re a stunt driver, you’d be required to have them in your personal vehicle. So, in a motor vehicle entrusted with the safety of large groups of small children, this seems an obvious safety measure and not one worth debating.
No! – Can’t prove it with me. My father was once crossing the Post Road from Sylvan Road South after the light turned green and he was hit by a speeding driver who didn’t see the light. The impact knocked him into the passenger seat unhurt while destroying his car. A seat belt would have killed him. Seat belts have their place but they don’t cure bad driving.
In the case of this bus crashing head-on, with no hood, a seat belt might of helped or maybe not. Going slower would have helped.
I want thank the fire and police and all that showed up what a great job