Early-morning bus collision in Rockville Centre leaves 3 with minor injuries

Three people were injured — none seriously — when a school bus occupied only by a driver hit another bus carrying nine Rockville Centre students on the morning of June 8.

A South Side Middle School student, one of a small group that was waiting at the corner of Hempstead Avenue and Richmond Road for their bus to school, tripped and fell while running from the bus carrying the students, which careened across Hempstead Avenue and toppled and came to rest on a brick and stone pillar at Richmond Road. She ended up under the bus, but wasn’t hit by it.

The collision took place shortly after 7 a.m. The two Atlantic Express bus drivers, a man and a woman, and the middle school student were taken to area hospitals. The student and the male bus driver — who was at the wheel of the otherwise empty bus — were treated and released immediately, but the female bus driver was not released until Monday. None of her nine passengers, who were on their way to Chaminade High School in Mineola for finals, were hurt. They were cleared and released at the scene.

The bus that was not carrying students had been heading north on Hempstead Avenue when it hit the other bus, which was moving east across Hempstead, from Arrandale Road to Richmond Road. There was no word on the cause of the collision.

Wendy Curran, a resident of Eton Road, which runs perpendicular to Richmond Road, said that she was just getting out of bed when she heard a loud crash. “I was tired and I had just gotten up, and I thought it might have just been a garbage truck picking up something large, like an oven,” Curran said. “I was at my computer, answering emails, and about 10 minutes later I heard the sirens and realized it wasn’t the garbage.”

According to Curran, speeding buses are a common problem in the area. “I was upset at myself because so many times I’ve tried to cross Hempstead and … the school buses come screaming around that corner at more than 50 miles an hour, but I never called to complain,” she said. “I hate to see a light go up there, but I think it’s necessary. And I think maybe the bus drivers should be checked more often.”

Rockville Centre schools Assistant Superintendent Robert Bartels said he would not speculate on the cause of the accident before he saw an official report. “The front of the northbound bus hit near the door of the bus that was crossing, like a T-bone,” he said. “The bus that was going across was pushed off angle and ended up on the sidewalk, hitting a huge brick stone pillar that is eight to 10 feet high, knocking it over and coming to rest on top of it.

“A group of middle school students were waiting for their bus to school and saw the bus that was crossing coming at them, and had to run away so they wouldn’t be hit,” Bartels added. “One student fell, scraped her knee and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

“It’s just more evidence,” he concluded, “of the concerns that the district and the community have about people driving up and down Hempstead Avenue without lights and stop signs.”

Janet Wiedenhoft, who owns the house at the corner where the crash took place, was not home at the time but rushed back when she learned of the accident. “My daughter-in-law called and said there was a bus on my lawn,” Wiedenhoft recounted. “It's the children you really care about. I don't know how this happened, but something's got to change. They have to make sure the bus drivers are competent.”

Mayor Francis Murray praised the swift emergency response. “The Rockville Centre Fire Department responded immediately and did a fantastic job with this situation, and the police as well,” Murray said. “We were lucky. This could have been a catastrophe.”

Jeff Greenfield, who lives nearby, arrived at the scene about five minutes after the accident. “We’re very lucky that it wasn’t worse, and very lucky that the Chaminade kids got out all right,” he said. “They followed the protocol and went out the back of the bus.”

School board President Liz Dion also had praise for rescuers. “I'm very thankful that nobody was seriously injured,” she said, “and I'd like to thank the emergency responders for all their help.”

According to Chaminade President Brother Thomas Cleary, the students, none of whom were injured, were taken to school by their parents.

“We've set up our support staff to be present for the students if they need it,” South Side Middle School Principal Shelagh McGinn said after returning from the scene of the crash. “We’ll be checking on them all day. The seventh-grade student who fell had minor injuries and is back home with her family. I think the emergency responders did a fabulous job.”