Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Truck driver injuries 'medium to severe;' children injuries mostly minor
Officials said multiple children were taken to the Muleshoe hospital after their school bus was involved in a crash with a cattle truck.
MULESHOE - A school bus crash north of Muleshoe sent nine children and a truck driver to area hospitals, officials said early Tuesday evening.
The truck driver suffered “medium to severe injuries,” Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Bryan Witt said. He was undergoing treatment at University Medical Center in Lubbock on Tuesday evening.
Eight of the children were treated for minor injuries at Muleshoe Area Medical Center. One child was transported to UMC with “non-incapacitating injuries, which means they were able to walk,” Witt said.
“We can't get into specific injuries due to (privacy) laws."
Witt said the school bus driver was not injured. He said all of the children on the bus were transported to the hospital.
The accident happened about 2:20 p.m. CDT Tuesday, about five miles north of Muleshoe on Texas 214. The children were on their way home from summer school classes, Muleshoe school Superintendent R. L. Richards said.
The crash occurred at the intersection of 214 and Bailey County Road 1028, officials said.
Witt said it was "typical" for all those involved in a school bus wreck to be transported to the hospital for evaluation.
A preliminary investigation showed the bus was traveling north on Texas-214 and preparing to turn west onto CR-1028, according to DPS. The truck driver was behind the bus on 214 and "attempted to pass the bus as the driver of the bus was turning west onto CR-1028," DPS reported.
Witt said the incident is still under investigation and that there were no charges filed as of Tuesday afternoon. He declined to identify any of those involved.
Witt said there was damage to the front left panel of the bus and to the front of the truck.
Richards, who was on the scene soon after the accident, said all the parents whose children were involved had been notified Tuesday afternoon.
Officials said the truck involved was carrying cattle. Richards said both vehicles remained upright after the wreck and that it appeared no cattle were ejected.
