An afternoon school bus ride ended in a deadly crash Thursday when an SUV struck a bus carrying 16 students in northern New York, killing the SUV driver and sending five children and the bus driver to hospitals.
The collision happened just before 3 p.m. on November 12 along County Route 75 in Henderson, Jefferson County. State police said the SUV was traveling north at a high rate of speed when it hit the southbound Belleville-Henderson Central School District bus. Investigators have not yet released a full account of what led to the impact.
Photos released by police showed extensive damage to the front of the yellow bus. Its driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown. All five injured students had injuries police described as minor.
Four of those children were also taken to Samaritan, while a parent brought the fifth to Carthage Area Hospital. The remaining 11 students were taken to the Smithville Fire Station, where parents and guardians could pick them up as emergency crews worked at the crash scene.
Local station WWNY reported that a vehicle caught fire after the collision, drawing multiple ambulances and fire crews to the road. County Route 75 was closed during the response.
The SUV driver’s identity was not released in the initial reports, and no further update on the bus driver’s condition was available. State police said the investigation remains ongoing.
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