GSL bus leaves road, enters ditch

A Glencoe-Silver Lake (GSL) school bus ran off a road, but was able to drive through and back onto another road in a mishap on Wednesday afternoon.
GSL Superintendent Chris Sonju said the accident occurred during an afternoon route between Lakeside in Silver Lake and Glencoe.
Sonju said the bus was heading south on County Road 2, when a note from a student started to blow around from an open window.
“It apparently blew into his (the driver’s) face and he reached for it,” said Sonju. The wheels of the bus went onto the shoulder of the road.
Uncertain if he could correct the bus’ course to make an upcoming curve, the driver “felt it was in the best interest of safety to drive down into the ditch,” said Sonju. The bus emerged onto the adjacent Iris Road.
Sonju said the driver checked the children for injuries, and then proceeded to Glencoe.
There, the children were checked again, and were ensured safe rides home, said Sonju.
“There were little cuts and bruises — the kind you can put a band-aid on,” said Sonju, but nothing that required medical attention at the hospital or clinic.
Sonju said school and bus company staff did their “due diligence” in making sure the children were safe.

For more, see the Sept. 24 print edition of The Chronicle.