Driver cited for school bus crash
No one was hurt Thursday when this bus carrying the Glacier High School volleyball team crashed into a truck.
The 73-year-old driver of a school bus has been cited for careless driving after he apparently failed to stop for a red light and crashed Thursday afternoon into the back of a work truck.
The driver, whose name was not released, apparently didn't see the stopped truck at the intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 82 and hit it at speeds near the posted speed limit, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
The bus was carrying the Glacier High School girls volleyball team to a state play-in match in Missoula when the crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
The front of the bus was badly damaged, so the players had to evacuate out the back after the crash. No one on the bus, including the driver, was injured, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Hawkins said.
Two men in the flatbed work truck, which was stopped in the southbound lanes of U.S. 93, were treated for minor injuries and released from Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
The truck was stopped at the red light in the right-hand lane of traffic and attempting to turn right into the White Oak C-Mart when it was rear-ended by the bus.
A third vehicle, a pickup truck going with a green light, was crossing the intersection from Montana 82 when debris from the impact shattered one of its windows.
Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, Hawkins said.
The bus involved in the wreck is owned by Treasure State Transit and the driver, who is from out of the area, is an employee of that company, Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Darlene Schottle said.
The school district, which asked that the man responsible for the crash not drive for them again, contracts with Treasure State Transit for bus services.
Bill Kimmet, manager of Treasure State Transit's Kalispell branch, declined to comment on the driver until the investigation is complete.
Kimmet did, however, point to the bus company's good driving record and reputation.
After the crash, the Glacier team got on a different bus and continued its trip to Missoula. Because of the delay, the volleyball match started a half-hour late.
The Wolfpack lost the match to Sentinel 3-1, ending Glacier's season.