SCHOOL BUS AND CATTLE TRUCK COLLISION KILLS THE TRUCK DRIVER IN HILMAR, CA
January 22, 2015
HILMAR, California — One person died and another suffered moderate injuries when a school bus with only a driver aboard collided with a semi-truck carrying cattle on Highway 165 south of downtown Hilmar early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The driver of the truck, a 33-year-old man from Chowchilla, died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver of the bus, Roxanne Boeken, 57, suffered leg injuries and was flown to a Modesto hospital, according to Colin B. Christian, transportation supervisor for the Hilmar Unified School District, and Moises Onsurez of the CHP.
No children were aboard the bus. Seven calves on the truck died, Onsurez said.
The accident at 165 at Turner Avenue just north of the Merced River was first reported at 6:24 a.m.
According to Onsurez, Boeken was driving the bus south on the highway when for an unknown reason, the truck driver, heading north, drove into the path of the bus.
The area near the crash forced the closure of Highway 165 at Turner Avenue. It’s expected to open at at 10:30 a.m., according to the CHP. Traffic was backed up for about a mile after the accident.