A school bus and a minivan collided in Wilmington on Monday, sparking a fire that left both vehicles badly charred and sent six people to the hospital with minor injuries. Flames rose from the crash site before firefighters were able to knock down the blaze, and officials say everyone involved managed to escape without serious harm.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, a black minivan collided with the back of the school bus, leaving the minivan with front-end damage. The impact and resulting fire scorched the rear of the bus as well as the minivan itself, though firefighters were able to put the flames out before anyone suffered serious injuries.
Photos Show Extent Of The Damage
The Wilmington Fire Department shared photos from the scene showing just how badly both vehicles were burned in the aftermath of the crash, per the outlet's report. All six people hospitalized were treated for what fire officials described only as minor injuries, and the report notes that no further details were immediately available regarding the circumstances of the collision.
Not The First Bus Crash To Rattle The City This Year
Monday's fire is not the only school bus crash to hit Wilmington this year. In July, a school bus ran a red light and struck a car at Eighth and Washington streets in downtown Wilmington, sending six people to the hospital, according to Delaware Online. Police said the car's 39-year-old driver and her 8-year-old passenger were taken to a hospital in stable condition, and the bus driver was cited in that incident.
A separate multi-vehicle wreck involving a school bus also injured eight people on a Tuesday morning, per WDEL. Wilmington Police said six bus occupants and two drivers were hospitalized in stable condition after that crash, which happened at West 10th Street and North Lincoln Street, and the department's Traffic Unit opened an investigation into its cause. It is not established whether that crash or the July incident are connected in any way to Monday's fire, and the evidence available does not point to a broader pattern tying the incidents together.
For now, the cause of Monday's crash remains unclear, and no citations or fault determinations have been reported. The Wilmington Fire Department has not released additional information beyond the photos shared from the scene.
