School Bus Crash Leaves 2 Tampa Elementary School Students and 2 Others Injured

The last day before Winter Break is often an exciting one for children. Eagerly anticipating both time off from classes and various winter holidays, they do not expect the day to start with a school bus crash. For 25 Oak Grove Elementary students, this is unfortunately what happened.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that the bus was at the intersection of N. Rome Avenue and W. Hanna Avenue and did not yield to an Audi. The resulting car accident left one passenger of the car, the bus driver, and two students injured. The students and bus driver were taken to St. Joseph's Hospital for treatment. The other students on board were transferred to a different bus and taken to school.

While the injuries were reported by the media as “minor,” this may not be the case. Because school bus passengers do not wear seat belts, they can easily be thrown about more than a restrained passenger in a school bus accident. This can lead to severe whiplash and other injuries that may not immediately have been identified.