Yesterday, a school bus accident in Jericho, New York sent 12 students to the hospital.
The children, ages 15 and 16 suffered minor injuries, said authorities, according to Newsday. At least one other vehicle was involved in the crash that occurred at 1:56 yesterday afternoon at the intersection of Brush Hollow Road and Jericho Turnpike, a Nassau police spokeswoman told Newsday.
The students all came from Westbury schools and were taken to the Nassau University Medical Center, located in East Meadow, said hospital spokeswoman, Shelley Lotenberg, Newsday reported. The children were evaluated at the emergency unit and released by early that same evening after they were treated for minor injuries, Lotenberg added.
Details on the driver and the accident’s cause were not available, police told Newsday. Westbury school officials could not be reached for comment, said Newsday.
Meanwhile, the Mineola Patch reported last week that an SUV collided with a mini school bus. That bus was transporting special-needs children on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola on November 13 at 4:14 p.m. The accident occurred near an intersection at Beebe Road.
Multiple ambulances responded from Mineola, Garden City Park, Williston Park, and Nassau County, said the Mineola Patch.
The SUV’s front end was damaged, as was the rear door of the mini school bus. The bus is owned by We Transport.
At least two people were transported to local hospitals, including one aide and a number of special needs children.
Last month, a Long Island school bus driver was charged with drinking while driving after he crashed the school bus during a field trip. The crash injured a 12-year-old passenger, Suffolk police told the New York Post.
In that case, James Sommer, 47, of Massapequa, was transporting 27 seventh grade students from the Plainedge Middle School to the DNA Learning Center at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Sommer crashed into a large tree limb around 10:15 a.m., police said, according to the New York Post. He was arrested at the scene and charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol (DWAI), which is a misdemeanor.
At first, police charged Sommer with a felony DWAI, but downgraded the offense pending further investigation.
The Sommer crash followed two prior arrests of school bus drivers in October. One took place in Syosset and the other in Ronkonkoma, both on Long Island.
