A Virginia school bus driver who blacked out at the wheel while driving a full bus of children reportedly indicated that she was feeling dizzy just moments before her bus crashed and injured herself and 16 children. The accident took place on September 20th in Loudon County, Virginia. The bus plowed through a fence and hit a tree after it had run off the road. None of the injuries were considered serious. The children and the driver were taken to Inova Loudoun Hospital.
The driver is a 14-year veteran who was transporting the children to Mountain View Elementary in Purcellville. Parents along the route said that she had been acting strangely immediately prior to the accident. One parent said that she had asked them to watch the bus so that she could go to the bathroom but then never got off the bus. Another parent said that the driver had told her that she was feeling dizzy. When the bus left that stop and turned the corner, the accident occurred.
An investigation by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department revealed that the 64-year old driver had been taking two different prescription medications at the time of the accident; one was an antibiotic. Because the incident was deemed a medical emergency no charges will be filed against the driver.
A spokesman for the Loudoun County Public Schools indicated that the school district has procedures in place for when a bus driver is not feeling well or is taking medication. Drivers are required by district policy to ask their physician as to whether or not any medication that they are taking could have an impact on their ability to drive. Drivers are also supposed to alert the district if they are feeling sick, in which case a replacement driver and/or medical assistance is provided. It is not known whether the driver had that conversation with her doctor, but no call was placed to the school district in this case.
When the accident took place, a good Samaritan climbed onto the bus and found that the driver was not conscious and was slumped over the wheel. When she came to she was quoted as saying that she had “blacked out”.
The driver has not been behind the wheel of a school bus since that time.