Jesse Wright

The Picayune Item

 

Bus accident, fire results in minor injuries

Jesse Wright

The Picayune Item

 

A Pearl River County School District bus carrying students collided with a pickup truck Monday morning on Highway 11, but there were no major injuries.

According to Cpl. Ben Seibert, a spokesperson for Mississippi Highway Patrol, there have been no citations issued, but the accident is still under investigation.

Seibert said the accident happened at 6:42 a.m. at the intersection of Picayune Street and Highway 11 in the Carriere area.

Seibert said the school bus, which was carrying four children, turned right from Picayune onto the northbound lane of the highway, when it was struck by a Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck also traveling north.

Seibert said the truck’s driver was uninjured, although the school bus driver was transported to Highland as was one of the students. He said two other students were treated for minor injuries on the scene.
According to Alan Lumpkin, the superintendent at Pearl River County School District, the child who was taken to the hospital did not sustain serious injuries. Lumpkin said there was another adult on the bus, an aid, and that person, too, is fine.

“We’re very blessed and we thank God everything’s OK, and that the students and the passenger and everyone was safe this morning,” Lumpkin said.

The accident could have been worse, as the bus engine caught fire after the accident, but Seibert said everyone was off the bus by the time the engine caught fire.