A tragic collision with a school bus has resulted in a fatality on a Rogers County highway in northeastern Oklahoma. According to KOCO, the collision occurred Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 169 at EW 370 Road, when a vehicle failed to stop and crashed into a stopped school bus unloading children. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 66-year-old David Witty of South Coffeyville, was killed in the incident.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported that the school bus was on the outside lane of southbound U.S. 169 when the crash happened, which closed the highway for approximately three hours. Oklahoma Highway Patrol revealed that 27 passengers were on the bus, nine, sustained injuries although details on the severity are presently unknown. In an account obtained by FOX23, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol noted that Witty was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
Following the crash, the affected children received checks from paramedics before being transported to the upper elementary school to reunite with their parents. Superintendent David Wilkins stated that counselors and principals would follow up with the children the subsequent day. He was quoted in an article by News On 6, saying that "no students were injured."
Interestingly, the crash site had previously been under consideration for a speed limit increase within the school zone. This was ultimately rejected by the Oologah City Council. The implications of this decision are poignant, given the recent calamity on this very stretch of highway, what might have been a more tragic turn of events, were speed limits higher, as per News On 6.
