Two people have been injured in an accident involving a Loudoun County School District school bus and a school utility truck on Monday, said local police authorities.
The accident occurred early on Monday morning, after the school bus had dropped children off at school in Leesburg, Loudoun County in Virginia. From eye witness reports and the initial reports from the preliminary investigation into the accident, it appears that the driver of the school bus was at fault in the accident.
69 year old Ali Saghafi of Leesburg has been driving school buses for the district for several years now, and has a good safety record. Saghafi has been found to be at fault in the accident, according to the police officers who are investigating the case.
A public information officer for the Loudoun County school district, Wayde Byard, confirmed that it was Bus 377, driver by Mr. Saghafi, that was involved in the accident. The incident occurred just after 7am, when the bus rear ended the utility truck at an intersection between Sycolin Road and Miller Drive SE in the historic town of Leesburg. There were no children on the bus at the time.
The driver of the utility truck was transported to Fairfax Inova Hospital with a minor head injury, where he is receiving treatment. Another occupant of the truck was also injured, and was transported to the Inova Cornwall Emergency Room where he received care for non life-threatening injuries. He has since been released from hospital.
The driver of the school bus did not sustain any injuries. After being questioned, the bus driver was charged with reckless driving and is expected to appear in court later this month to determine the consequences of the charge.
Leesburg is a historic town in the county of Loudoun, Virginia. The town has experienced tremendous growth in the last 30 years, transforming from a small rural comminity into a more urbanised one. With the transformation, has come more traffic and therefore more traffic accidents, such as this one. However, the risk of road traffic accidents in the region remains low. Leesburg authorities and law makers have responded to this accident by putting their trust in the law that the bus driver will receive appropriate consequences if he is indeed found to be guilty of negligence.
“We can just be grateful that no children were on board the school bus at the time of the accident,” said a spokesperson for the school district.