Following a collision yesterday afternoon between a school bus and a Toyota Tacoma in Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights, multiple injuries have been reported. KCRA 3 reported that the crash occurred around 2:50 p.m. on the 3900 block of Belden Street when the pick-up truck failed to stop at the intersection, striking the school bus carrying special needs children.
Nine individuals sustained injuries in the accident, where home surveillance footage showed the moment of impact and the aftermath, according to ABC10. The crash led to the Toyota, containing seven juveniles, careening into a shed after striking the school bus, which was traveling north on Belden Street. The Toyota was traveling eastbound on Harris Avenue.
Of the injured, two were from the school bus, and seven from the truck, as confirmed by the California Highway Patrol to FOX40. Five students from Grant Union High School were aboard the bus during the incident, and as a precaution, one student and the bus driver were hospitalized, stated the Twin Rivers School District.
In the chaos, occupants of the truck were seen exiting hastily and contemplating escape before being urged to stay at the scene. “We just see like seven kids in the truck start coming out like crazy. They were grabbing all their belongings and thinking about running away. All the people were telling them to stop and stay there,” Daniel Sandoval, a local resident who witnessed the crash told KCRA 3. The accident also raised concerns regarding traffic safety in the area, with neighbors appealing to the city for measures to slow down speeding vehicles. “People do not stop. This Stop [sign] really means nothing. It concerns us all the time, especially when I hear that speeding is going on. It’s a concern. We’ve already tried to reach out to the city. We want to get speed bumps or another stop sign because it’s happened more than once on our street,” voiced Yadira Aguilar in a conversation with KCRA 3.
The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation into the incident. The road was reopened sometime following the collision after emergency services cleared the scene, where the school bus had suffered significant front-end damage from the impact.
