Officer Joseph Maxton makes a picture of a school bus which was struck by the trailerr of a tractor trailer rig yesterday afternoon on Springdale Road. (Photo by Carl E. Hardegen)
WESTFIELD – Three people were transported to Noble Hospital yesterday afternoon after a crash on Springdale Road involving a school bus. No serious injuries were reported.
City police report the first of several calls reporting the crash between a tractor trailer rig and the small school bus was received at 3:31 p.m. and Officer Luis Morales was the first officer to arrive at the scene.
Morales reports that his investigation is not complete but said that the trailer of the southbound truck skidded on the wet pavement, as it traveled down the hill toward the intersection with Union Street, and crossed the center line.
The damage to a tractor trailer rig which was involved in a crash with a school bus Thursday afternoon on Springdale Road appears to be limited to the end of the trailer. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
At the same time, a small school bus operated by Lecrenski Transportation of Westfield was traveling up the hill and the end of the trailer struck the school bus immediately behind the cab, apparently right in front of the front row of seats in the passenger compartment.
The small school bus appears to have been created by adding a passenger compartment directly behind the cab of a full sized GMC pickup truck.
Pamela Kotarski, the director of transportation for the school department, said this morning that the bus was coming from Paper Mill School and was occupied by four pupils in addition to the driver and a monitor.
She said that one boy was transported to Noble Hospital and both the adults on the bus were also taken to the hospital.
Kotarski said that that boy suffered “only bruises” while the driver was treated for “minor cuts” inflicted by broken glass.
The bus monitor was the third person taken to hospital.
Police Sgt. Edward Murphy, a former commander of the Traffic and Safety Bureau, pointed out that tractor trailer traffic is barred from Springdale Road because the roadbed was not built to sustain the weight of heavy trucks, not because the road is too narrow.
Police are barred from sharing information about citations which may or may not have been issued.
The truck involved is part of the fleet of Pace Motor Lines Inc., of Stratford, Conn.
