Slick road a factor in bus crash

Upward of 35 students escaped relatively unscathed after a school bus tipped over Wednesday on a snow-packed KM Ranch Road near Whitefish.

The accident happened on bus route 3 at about 4:30 p.m., according to a statement from the Whitefish School District. The school bus slipped off the edge of the road and overturned on its side. Students were evacuated from the emergency exit at the rear of the bus.

One student was taken by ambulance to North Valley Hospital for precautionary measures, and no serious injuries were reported.

According to Montana Highway Patrol trooper Andrew Horton, the accident happened on a gravel section of the road north of the intersection with Spring Prairie Road. Horton said the section was snow-packed and slick, but plowed and maintained.

Speed was not a factor, Horton said, noting that the bus ended up on its side following what he described as a “very slow and gentle roll.”

According to Horton, the rear wheels of the bus went over the edge of the roadway as the driver negotiated a curve.

“The rear right tires slipped off the edge,” Horton said. “Once that dropped off, it’s a really steep grade down the embankment.”

Immediately following the accident, Rocky Mountain Transportation, Whitefish School District administrators and the school resource officer all responded to the scene.

Using the Blackboard Connect system, a text message and phone message were sent out to parents of students in the district.

“We wanted to give families the facts of the situation,” said Whitefish Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt.

“Given the history of Whitefish with a very tragic bus accident, that captures a lot of concern,” she added, making reference to the district’s fatal school bus wreck in 1984 that claimed nine lives.

Davis Schmidt said that once on scene, the response team went through the bus roster to identify students involved.

Some students were being picked up by parents by the time Horton arrived.

“That means everything was good,” Horton said. “Everyone did everything appropriately. The incident fared well, thankfully.”

The district followed up with phone calls to families later in the evening.

“We wanted to make sure they were OK and let them know of the support available,” Davis Schmidt said.

She said the response team will review the incident tomorrow.

“We meet regularly as a quick-response team,” Davis Schmidt said. “We will debrief the situation tomorrow. We are continuously trying to improve the process.”

“Thank goodness everyone is OK and safe, and that’s the bottom line,” she added.

For more information or questions, contact the Whitefish School District at 406-862-8640.