HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – CBS3 is getting an exclusive look astatine the chaos that unfolded connected a botched schoolhouse autobus thrust successful Delaware County connected Tuesday. The incidental was each caught connected compartment telephone video, and acrophobic parents privation answers astir however things went truthful wrong,
The superintendent of the Haverford Township School District sent a missive to parents apologizing for the incident. The missive says a mechanical contented led to an antifreeze leak.
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Cell telephone video taken by CBS3 newsman Joe Holden’s girl shows what appears to beryllium antifreeze leaking connected the level of the autobus adjacent student’s backpacks.
The superintendent says 3 students were treated aft interaction with the antifreeze. Eyewitness News is moving to fig retired conscionable however atrocious their injuries are.
CBS3 besides obtained compartment telephone video that shows the bus’s rear exit unfastened portion the autobus was inactive moving.
School officials accidental a pupil opened the exit arsenic the operator was trying to propulsion implicit to halt the bus. Fortunately, everyone safely exited the autobus aft it stopped and determination were nary injuries from that.
Other students captured video of the incidental arsenic well, and immoderate statement portion of a school-issued missive that claimed: Fortunately, each safely exited the autobus erstwhile it was stopped.
“When they got passed the intersection of West Chester Pike, kids started jumping retired the backmost of the bus,” Renee Viscusi, a genitor of a kid connected the bus, said.
Her 2 different sons, who are successful precocious school, happened to beryllium riding down the autobus erstwhile the incidental happened. They took the video she is outraged about.
“The autobus had stopped, and kids started jumping out. But past the autobus started moving again portion kids were inactive trying to leap out,” she said.
Officials accidental an further autobus was sent to that determination to instrumentality the children to school.
Some students chose to locomotion the remainder of the mode to Haverford Middle School, which was much than a mile. Parents were shocked to larn what happened.
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“That’s scary. That’s terrifying,” a genitor said. “Like you deliberation your kids are harmless connected the bus. Every clip you nonstop your kids retired successful this time and age, you’re scared.”
The superintendent did apologize successful her missive to parents connected Tuesday. No connection if the autobus has been fixed.
The schoolhouse addressed the incidental successful the pursuing missive to parents:
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I’m penning to fto you cognize astir a mechanical contented with 1 of our schoolhouse buses yesterday greeting and to supply you with accusation astir this incident. A video from the incidental has been shared connected societal media and you whitethorn spot a quality study astir it. We privation to pass the astir accurate, up-to-date accusation straight with our parents and to respond to immoderate questions oregon concerns you mightiness person astir this.
Yesterday greeting astatine astir 7:20 a.m. a autobus transporting students to Haverford Middle School incurred a mechanical nonaccomplishment and began to overheat causing antifreeze to leak wrong the schoolhouse bus. This caused steam from the motor and immoderate antifreeze to determination into the bottommost of the compartment of the bus. Seeing the steam (or what students person termed arsenic smoke), a pupil adjacent the backmost of the autobus opened the rear exit portion the autobus was moving astatine a dilatory complaint of speed. A video of this, which shows the autobus traveling done an intersection erstwhile the airy appears to crook red, arsenic good arsenic immoderate students jumping from the rear of the bus, has been shared connected societal media.
An further autobus was sent to the determination to instrumentality the students to school. Some students walked to the mediate schoolhouse and each were accounted for. Unfortunately, immoderate of the students adjacent the beforehand of the autobus had interaction with the antifreeze spray connected the level of the cabin. Some were treated by our schoolhouse nurse, portion immoderate students were taken by their parents for attraction for tegument interaction with the antifreeze. This is evidently upsetting and ne'er what we would privation to happen.
Yesterday, our administrative team, including Middle School Principal Dan Horan and myself, were capable to talk with the parents of students who had travel successful interaction with the antifreeze. Mr. Horan and his guidance unit met with each the autobus riders arsenic a radical yesterday greeting to speech with them astir what had happened. We besides person told parents that we volition instantly regenerate immoderate shoes, backpacks, oregon different covering that came successful interaction with the antifreeze.
We were moving rapidly yesterday greeting to stitchery accusation and notify families that were impacted by this incidental via email arsenic soon arsenic we could. Unfortunately, we didn’t person implicit accusation and entree to each the videos. We did not successful immoderate mode mean to downplay the seriousness of this incidental successful our notification to those families.
We are highly atrocious this occurred, and we are moving to rapidly find what happened to origin this malfunction. While this probe is underway, we are reviewing information precautions, protocols, the effect of our personnel, and a caller operator volition beryllium assigned to this route.
Our buses are routinely checked and maintained, and we volition proceed to execute these preventative evaluations arsenic good arsenic look into wherefore and however this malfunction occurred. Our modular protocol includes an inspection by the state, and this autobus was inspected successful August.
While it whitethorn dependable trite, we are sincere successful saying that the information and payment of our students is our priority, and we volition proceed to bash each we tin to guarantee they are harmless some astatine schoolhouse and connected the mode to and from school.
If you privation to interaction me, you whitethorn telephone 610-853-5900 x7201 oregon email mreusche@haverfordsdnet.
Thank you,
Dr. Maureen Reusche, Superintendent