SUV crashes into BV bus

An SUV that collided with a Brandon Valley School District on the morning of Feb. 12 resulted with a report of one child with a concussion, one with a bruised forearm and multiple kids who reported headaches.

“The immediate concern of safety of our kids is our number one priority,” said BV Superintendent Dr. Jarod Larson. 

Sgt. Jeff Barnable of the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office reported that an SUV collided with the school bus at 258th St. and 476th Ave. just before 7:30 a.m. No ambulances were called to the scene.

Both the sheriff’s office and the BVSD initially said neither had received reports of injuries, but Superintendent Jarod Larson said the school later received a report of one child with a concussion and two others with minor injuries.

Brandon Valley school buses are owned and operated by the district, and Larson said in the case of a crash, it is district policy for the bus driver to check for obvious injuries and contact emergency responders before bringing in private transportation to take children to school.

“After viewing both internal videos, our bus driver did a phenomenal job of asking if everybody was OK and then if anyone was in need of immediate medical attention,” Larson said.

Once the students were transported from the crash scene to their intended destinations, Larson said parents of children who were on the bus were notified via email and were allowed to make their own decisions regarding further medical examination and treatment.

The bus, Larson added, is temporarily out of service for repairs.

“I’m very proud of the way our bus driver handled the situation and certainly thankful we had a limited number of injuries,” Larson said.

The sheriff’s office is asking for parents of kids on the bus to call the sheriff’s office via the non-emergency number at 367-7000 if their child was injured. 

The sheriff’s office reminded drivers to slow down on icy roads and to allow themselves extra time to stop at intersections.