February 26, 2000

Two injured when bus hits pole

       Two Maple Grove Elementary students were injured and three others were shaken up when their school bus plowed into a concrete-based light pole on a church parking lot. None of the injuries was life threatening. Johnson County deputies said.  The accident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday on the parking lot of Mt. Auburn United Methodist Church, 3100 W. Stones Crossing Road.  Johnson County Sheriffs Deputy Jim Drake said bus driver Pamela K. Shirley had dropped off a few students at the church for after-school care and was pulling away when the accident occurred.  “She said the kids had been rowdy and she had told them to sit down and be quiet.” Drake said.  As she was pulling away, she turned on the inside lights to quiet them, and as she looked up into the interior mirror, the bus struck the base of the pole.”  Shirley estimated her speed at 5 mph when the accident occurred. The impact tore the left front wheel off the bus. A fuel tank and battery were punctured.  Twenty-eight students were on the bus. Two were taken to Community Hospital South after complaining of head and neck injuries. Three others who were shaken up were kept at the scene for their parents to pick up. Those students were given bags of ice.  The damage to the bus was estimated at $5,000 school officials said. Another bus was dispatched to the scene to deliver the other 23 children to their homes.  The injured children’s names were not immediately available.  (Reprinted with permission from the Indianapolis Star)

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