A tractor-trailer driver was injured Sept. 1 after the vehicle struck a Patrick County Public Schools bus on U.S. 58 at Trot Valley Road.
Virginia State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Richard Garletts said the crash was reported at 8:09 a.m. and involved a tractor-trailer and a school bus.
“The tractor-trailer claims the loss of brakes and struck the bus. The driver of the TT (tractor-trailer) was injured,” he said.
The tractor-trailer driver was charged following the crash, Garletts said. A Virginia State Police trooper went to the hospital to interview the driver.
The Virginia Department of Transportation also set up traffic control while the tractor-trailer was recovered.
“The driver of the bus was not injured, and there were no kids on the bus,” Garletts said.
Patrick County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jason Wood said the bus driver went to Stuart Community Hospital to be checked out and was discharged that morning.
“So everyone is okay. Our driver is not at fault nor got a ticket, and that is about all we know right now,” he said.
Wood said the bus driver had already completed his route, which was local to the Meadows of Dan area, and was taking the bus to the bus garage in Stuart for service.
“We are very thankful that no children were on the bus,” he said.
Wood said the bus appears to be totaled, but the school division is waiting for an insurance adjuster to inspect it before making that determination. He expects the inspection to take place sometime this week.
Wood said the division does not have funds earmarked to replace the bus during the current budget cycle.
“We hope insurance will help offset that cost, and with some additional savings, we will look at replacing it because I would hope the other vehicle’s insurance would definitely cover, and we’ll use our insurance, maybe legal assistance, to help try and replace the bus,” Wood said.
The division has seven spare buses that it rotates for monthly maintenance, Wood said, so student pickup and drop-off will not be affected.
“They put a sticker magnet over the bus number so that the bus number now reflects the same bus number that had completed that route prior to the accident,” he said.
