MARCH 24, 2015
BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA
Police are investigating what caused a school bus loaded
with kids to plow into a home in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, this morning.
The students were uninjured and escaped with the bus driver
from a rear emergency exit on the bus, which was bound for Saint Helena School,
according to the Whitpain Township Police Department. The students ranged in
age from 5 to 12, said the school's principal, Sister Cathe Shoulberg.
The 58-year-old male bus driver was taken to a nearby
hospital to be evaluated, police said in a written statement that did not
specify a reason for the hospital evaluation. The driver may have had a medical
issue before the incident, ABC station WPVI reported.
"The bus driver looked absolutely lethargic, he was
completely out of it," a neighborhood resident, Craig Kalman, told WPVI.
"He said 'I don't remember, I don't remember.'"
The driver is “loved by students and parents” and “they are
very concerned about him,” Shoulberg said.
“Students said that he appeared fine this morning,” Shoulberg
added.
One person was inside the house at the time of the crash,
but the person was uninjured, police said. Later reports suggested additional
people inside the house, but still no injuries, though police did not respond
to requests for clarification.
"We were in that room five seconds before,"
homeowner Jill Lafferty told WPVI. "The force was so great that it pushed
both of us on the floor, it sounded like an explosion. I thought there was a
gas leak and something exploded downstairs."
"I said a prayer and I said, 'Thank you God that my
kids were not in that room,'" Lafferty added. "I don’t know what
could have happened. I don’t want to think about what ifs.”
Police received a report of a bus into a residence on
Windermere Drive at 7:45 a.m. and continued to investigate the crash throughout
the day. Police told ABC News they would be looking at video from a camera on
the bus as part of the investigation and had interviewed students at the
school.
Here's a look at the front of the bus that plowed into a
home in Blue Bell. Crews just removed it. pic.twitter.com/neYlIOnd07
— Walter Perez (@WalterPerez6abc) March 24, 2015
Police said nine students were on the bus when it crashed,
and Shoulberg said several others witnessed the accident from a bus stop. After
arriving at school, Shoulberg added, the students were examined by the school
nurse and deemed to be alright but shocked, and they were given soft pretzels
at the principal's office.