A yellow school bus operating as a charter struck a tree in Cheltenham, Maryland Thursday night, killing the driver and closing out a grim evening for Prince George's County roads. The crash happened near U.S. Route 301 and Frank Tippett Road, and no other occupants or vehicles were involved.
Firefighters responded to the scene around 9:33 p.m., according to WJLA. Crews found the driver trapped inside the bus and worked to free them before they were pronounced dead at the scene, per the Prince George's County Fire and EMS account relayed to the station.
Officials had not identified the bus operator as of the station's report, and information about the circumstances that led the bus to leave the roadway was not immediately available. It also remains unclear whether the bus was carrying any passengers at the time, beyond the station's confirmation that no other occupants or vehicles factored into the crash.
A Deadly Year for County Roads
Wednesday's crash lands amid a brutal stretch for traffic safety in Prince George's County. The county recorded 93 traffic fatalities in 2025, more than double the 43 deaths tallied in neighboring Montgomery County over the same period, according to the same WJLA report. Those numbers have fueled pushes from safety advocates for measures including speed cameras along Indian Head Highway, one of the county's deadliest corridors.
This is not the only recent crash in the county to involve a school bus. On May 8, a Mercedes slammed into the side of a Prince George's County school bus at the intersection of Indian Head Highway and Pine Drive, killing the Mercedes driver. No children were aboard that bus at the time, and its driver was hospitalized while a third motorist was treated at the scene, the outlet reported.
What Comes Next
Maryland's motor vehicle rules require a Type A school vehicle inspection to be completed on form EP-213, with an original copy kept on file for as long as the owner retains the vehicle or holds a contract with a local Board of Education, according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. It is not known whether any inspection or regulatory questions have arisen from Thursday's crash.
No further details on the driver's identity or the cause of the crash had been released as of Thursday. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
