School bus packed with kids hits ditch after nearly head-on wreck, Louisiana cops say
A school bus full of students slammed into a ditch off a Louisiana road after it was hit by an SUV, deputies said.
The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office received a call on March 13 around 3:25 p.m. that there had been a two-vehicle crash involving a school bus, according to a news release.
Deputies said a 2009 Mazda Tribute was going the opposite direction of the school bus on Highway 478 when the SUV drifted into the oncoming lane. The SUV hit the school bus nearly head-on, forcing the bus off the road and across a ditch, hitting trees, until it came to a stop, police said.
The bus carried at least 36 students and the bus driver, deputies said.
The other driver was a 48-year-old man from Flora, whose name has not been released.
Deputies said other drivers on the road stopped when they saw the crash and came to help the bus driver and students.
All students and the bus driver were unharmed, police said.
The other driver was trapped in the SUV, and deputies said it took over 20 minutes to free the man from the wreckage. He was then airlifted to a regional trauma center for what the sheriff’s office believes to be “non-life-threatening injuries.”
The investigation into how the SUV drifted across the center line is ongoing, and updates will come from Louisiana State Police, deputies said.
Natchitoches is about 80 miles southeast of Shreveport.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 3:43 PM with the headline "School bus packed with kids hits ditch after nearly head-on wreck, Louisiana cops say."
