Man injured in school bus collision

WEST JORDAN — A South Jordan man was critically injured Thursday when his truck was hit by a school bus full of children.

Around 8:05 a.m. a school bus carrying 55 children from Terra Linda Elementary in West Jordan collided with a Ford Ranger at 9000 South and 4000 West, said West Jordan Police Sgt. Drew Sanders.

The bus was northbound on 4000 West, and the southbound truck turned east "in front of the bus," Sanders said. No children were injured except for one child with minor bruising.

The driver of the truck, 46, was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition, Sanders said. Another bus arrived quickly from the Jordan School District to take the children to school, "so the school district was on the ball," the sergeant said.

Sanders said alcohol may have been a factor but officers were still investigating.

The school contacted parents of the children to inform them of the accident and let them know their children are safe at school, according to school Principal Mary Ann Erdmann.

"Paramedics came and checked out any of the students that were either shook up or complaining," Erdmann said. The school allowed children to talk with their parents over the phone or to be picked up "so they could calm down at home," Erdmann said.

"The bus driver did everything he could to stop, but I just found out the bus driver is fine," she said.

— Cimaron Neugebauer