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Two children injured in crash involving school bus

Colorado State Patrol says bus driver cited with careless driving causing injury

Two children suffered serious injuries Friday north of Ignacio in a crash involving a Chevy Tahoe and school bus.

An Ignacio School District bus driver was cited with careless driving causing injury after crashing the school bus, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

No children were on the bus at the time of the crash. Two children in the Chevy Tahoe, however, were flown to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

“We’re just very fortunate there weren’t any kids on the bus,” said Cpl. Jonathan Silver. “It was pretty significant damage to the right side of the bus. It was significant damage to both vehicles.”

Silver said the school bus was headed east on County Road 317 around 7:30 a.m. when it failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection with Colorado Highway 172.

Silver said a witness originally reported the bus came to a stop at the stop sign, but on further investigation, it turned out the bus did not stop.

As the school bus attempted to cross Highway 172 to County Road 516 to continue east, it came into the path of the Tahoe headed north on Highway 172, which crashed into the bus.

The two vehicles came to rest off the highway in the northeast corner of the intersection against a post, Silver said.

Four occupants were in the Tahoe, including a father, identified as Weston Anthony, 34, of Ignacio and three children. Anthony and two children suffered serious bodily injury. One of the children was not injured.

The two children, ages 9 and 13, suffered leg injuries, according to the State Patrol.

Anthony was in stable condition Friday afternoon at Mercy Regional Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

According to a CSP report, the family was not wearing seat belts.

The bus driver did not report serious injuries but was taken to Mercy for review, Silver said.

The bus driver was identified as Jean Ellis, 67, of Ignacio. She was cited with careless driving causing injury for pulling into the intersection and in front of the Tahoe, Silver said.

Alcohol and drugs are not suspected factors in the crash, he said. Ellis was wearing a seat belt, according to CSP’s report.

Ignacio School District Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto said he is waiting for a full police report before taking any possible actions with the bus driver.

“I’m not going to make a rash decision on discipline at this point,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com



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