Published: May 13, 2008 10:27 am         

School Bus Accidents

School bus wrecks injure several

ROMNEY, W.Va. - Thirty-four people, most of them students, were transported to area hospitals Monday following two accidents - one in Mineral and the other in Hampshire County - both of which involved school buses.

Of those injured, 32 were involved in a 7:45 a.m. accident at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Trojan Way, near Hampshire High School in Romney.

Loretta Figgins of Delray was driving the school bus when she apparently failed to yield the right of way to Keith Crawford of Piedmont, who was driving a 2008 Hyundai Accent, the West Virginia State Police at Romney said. Crawford, no age given, and a juvenile on the bus were transported to Hampshire Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

The remaining 30 bus passengers were taken to the hospital by a second Hampshire County school bus as a precaution.

Police said Figgins, no age given, was issued a traffic citation. Trooper B.K. Wright investigated.

In Mineral County, two people were transported to Cumberland Memorial Hospital after a dump truck rear-ended a car and sent it into the front of a school bus at 2:48 p.m. on state Route 956 near state Route 28. It was not clear if any of the injured involved schoolchildren.

Volunteers from Short Gap, Fort Ashby, Wiley Ford and Cresaptown fire departments responded and two tow trucks were called. The last unit left the scene at 4:18 p.m. The Mineral County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

No further information was available Monday night.