Ashland, WI : One seriously injured in car-school bus crash on State Highway 13 just south of Redinger Road on Tuesday, January 27, 2015

One man was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon in an automobile-school bus accident about six miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 just south of Redinger Road, while in the bus, which was loaded with school children, there were no apparent injuries.

According to Ashland County Sheriff Michael Brennan, the bus, operated by Lake Shore Bus Company for the School District of Ashland, was stopped on the road with red light flashers operating when an older model Black Toyota Corolla with Wisconsin license plates struck it from behind.
“There were 45 kids in the bus and one driver,” Brennan said. “They were all reported to be OK but they have been transported by another bus to the Ashland hospital for triage just to make sure they are all right.”

The driver of the car was not so lucky. The impact of the crash submarined the car under the bus all the way back to the trunk of he vehicle, trapping the driver. His identity was not immediately available.

According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, the accident occurred at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after area schools let out for the day.
Initial reports indicated that there were two persons in the vehicle, but because the car was largely underneath the bus it was difficult for emergency personnel to determine how many victims were in the car. A heavy-duty tow truck had to lift the back end of the bus off the vehicle in order for another tow truck to pull the car out from under it.

In the end it was determined that the driver was alone in the car at the time of the accident.

That the driver survived the accident at all appeared nearly miraculous; the roof of the car was partially crushed from the hood nearly to the trunk.

Emergency personnel had to use power equipment to cut away part of the bus skirt and to remove the car doors in order to gain access to the victim.
He was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center where he was transported by LifeLink 3 Helicopter ambulance to a Duluth hospital. His condition was not known at press time.

“The driver did appear to be conscious,” Brennan said. “He was not very alert, but he was moving around and that is a good sign.”
Brennan said the bus was stopped to discharge a child when the accident occurred.

“The brief statement from the buys driver was that she was stopped to let off a child, who was just crossing the road when she saw the vehicle was not going to be stopping and then impacted the rear of the bus,” he said. “The red lights were operating on the bus and they were stopped in the middle of Highway 13.”

Responding to the scene of the accident were the Ashland County Sheriff’s Department, The Wisconsin State Patrol, Ashland Fire Department and Paramedics, The Marengo Fire Department and the Mason Fire Department, with Pospychalla and Tomlinson towing assisting with the extrication.
The accident remains under investigation by the State Patrol and the Ashland County Sheriff’s Department.

Source :
Dozens of children escape injury after Ashland bus crash