Richard Bailey, PFAS pictures
1992-11-24 15 front to back, Ellen Bell, Dick Bailey, Frank Fechter (in bus)
from Trenton Times by Thornaday
Four special-education pupils from the Ewing School District were slightly injured yesterday when their school bus and a vehlcle collided on Scotch Road, police said.
The pupils, from Antheil Elementary School on Ewingville Road, were taken to Mercer Medical Center for observation but were all expected to be released yesterday, officlaJs said.
However, some parents whose chlldren were on the bus but escaped injury have criticized the school district for failing to notify them immediately about the accident.
The accident occurred about 1:15 p.m. when the school-bus driver, whose name was not released, was turning onto Scotch Road from Nursery Road and was struck by a Blazer that was south bound on Scotch Road, said Lt. Michael Chipowsky. The name of the Blazer driver was not available.
Neither driver was injured, and no summonses were immediately issued, Chipowsky said.
"The accident remains under investigation," he said.
Barry Hantman, whose 11-year-old son, Bryan, was on the bus, said he was angered that no one from the school district notified him about the accident.
Bryan Hantman was slightly injured and rode home in another bus the district sent to the accident scene.
"If I'd known, I would have immediately gone to the accident scene and picked my son up," Hantman said.
The father said his son was "exceedingly" frightened and called both him and his wife, Sarah at work to tell them of the accident.
"IT'S A JUDGMENT call on the part of the school district not to call all of the parents immediately - but I'm definitely not at all happy about that decision," Hantman said.
Donna O'Sullivan, spokeswoman for the school district, said the school principal was in the process of calling all the parents last night but bad initially focused on the four families whose chlldren were taken to the hospital. O'Sullivan said that the school had sent a representative to the accident site and to the hospital to talk with families.
Because his son had been so upset by the accident, Hantman said it was difficult to learn from him whether be had been seriously hurt, "and your mind automatically thinks the worst."
Hantman said his son suffered only minor injuries and had a stiff neck.
Hantman said some other parents who learned of the accident the same way he had agreed with him. Hantman said be complained to the school and to the district about the notification procedure.
ANOTHER PARENT, who declined to give her name, said her daughter was on the bus and also ended up at home after catching the second bus.
"I was at work when she called me. She was very frightened and crying; I had no idea what had happened," she said.
The bus has a maximum seating capacity of 24, but only 10 to 15 youngsters normally ride it dally, Hantman said.
O'Sullivan said she bad not been given the name of the bus driver involved in yesterday's accident.
Antheil students yesterdly were dismissed early, at 1:05 p.m., because of parent-teacher conferences, she said.
