School Bus and Firetruck Collide, Injuring Firefighter

A school bus carrying 27 elementary school students collided with a firetruck in Waldorf last week, slightly injuring one firefighter but leaving the children unharmed, the Charles County Sheriff's Office said.

School bus No. 81 pulled out of Berry Elementary School in Waldorf after the 3:50 p.m. dismissal Wednesday, carrying students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and drove north on Middletown Road. At the same time, a ladder truck from the Indian Head Volunteer Fire Department carrying three people was traveling east on Berry Road -- with its lights on and its siren wailing -- toward a fire in Waldorf, police said.

At 4:04 p.m., as the bus attempted to turn left onto Berry Road, it collided with the firetruck, police said. The front of the bus hit the right front bumper of the firetruck and scraped the passenger side of the truck as it passed.

"My first concern is, is somebody hurt?" said Darryl Evans, principal of Berry Elementary, who rushed from the school to the scene of the accident. "It was a great thing no one was hurt."

The students were examined for injuries at the scene and then taken, as a precaution, to Civista Medical Center in La Plata for further tests. Parents and school officials gathered at the hospital to wait for the students to be checked out, Evans said.

The injured firefighter was treated at the scene, said Kristen Timko, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

The bus was driven by Jean E. Younger, 36, of Marbury, and the firetruck was operated by William R. Massey, 35, of Indian Head, police said. The sheriff's office is investigating who was at fault, Timko said.

Jeff Williams, chief of the Indian Head Volunteer Fire Department, said he would not discuss the accident until the sheriff's investigation is completed.

"We're not going to place blame, place fault on anybody" until after the investigation, he said.

The crash damaged the fronts of both vehicles and tore the bumper off the bus, Evans said. The last student left the hospital in La Plata about three hours after the accident, he said.

"It was a very long day," he said.