Students Hurt In School Bus Crash- Parents Upset

Written by
Carol Vaughn
NEW  CHURCH – Six students were transported by ambulance to a Salisbury, Md., hospital Tuesday morning after an Accomack County school bus struck a pole and went into a ditch near here.

The bus was carrying 32 Kegotank Elementary School students.

Accomack County Public Schools Transportation Supervisor Frank Hurst responded to the accident at Sign Post and Kelly roads around 7:30 a.m. and the school board office initiated its emergency crisis plan, according to a press release.

Administrators and staff from schools in northern Accomack County as well as the central office responded to the scene, as did Virginia State Police and emergency medical services.

Benson and the principal drove to the hospital and were informed when they arrived in late morning all six students had been released.

It was the same bus that became the center of controversy last fall after driver Leon Harmon, who had driven the route for nearly four decades, was asked to resign after a parent complained about a comment he allegedly made.

Harmon was reinstated but assigned to another bus after parents spoke at a school board meeting and submitted a petition with over 200 signatures on his behalf.

A substitute was driving when the bus crashed.

“(H)ad the bus been in Leon’s capable hands this would not have happened ... Leon had an impeccable driving and safety record in the county,” school advocate Connie Burford said via Facebook, noting Harmon’s near-perfect attendance record.

Some parents said the school did not notify them or send home followup information, such as medical signs to watch for and who to contact with concerns.

“We only knew because of friends that called. We were never contacted,” said Melissa Guns, mother of a kindergartner. Someone was home throughout the incident and she knows of other families who never got a call.

Guns and her husband drove to the scene and signed their daughter out for the day.

Those who arrived at the scene were considered notified, parents were told later.

All but one were contacted and the principal since had a conversation with that person, Benson said, adding, “We want to do the best that we can in terms of communication ... I would very much like to hear from folks if they have concerns.”

Benson said those who took children to their own doctors to get checked after the crash should inform school officials so they can put them in touch with the district’s insurance carrier.

Guns said those answering the telephone at Kegotank after the accident “didn’t know what to tell you—they were just so flabbergasted.”

Her daughter said she bumped her head but was not physically checked out. “I kept her home just to monitor her,” Guns said.

“I’m just very disappointed with the school system and how they handled it,” Guns said, adding, “We have brought up safety issues and communication” at school board meetings in the past.
State Police are conducting an investigation .

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