School bus in collision but pupils unhurt
SCORES of motorists found themselves stuck in traffic yesterday morning after a BMW collided with a school bus on a busy road.
At around 8am, a Black BMW 5 series collided with the school bus, service 213 for the William Allitt School, in Newhall, Swadlincote.
Although no serious injuries were recorded, the road was blocked and emergency services were at the scene.
The accident happened on the A444 Woodland Road, by the traffic lights for the new Taylor Wimpey housing development.
Pictures from the scene confirm the bus was carrying schoolchildren heading to William Allitt School.
The road was closed for more than two hours, while both vehicles, which received front-end damage, were recovered.
Drivers had to turn around and find alternative routes for their journeys.
A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: “We received a report at around 8am today (Wednesday, September 23) of a collision on the A444, Woodland Road, Stanton in Swadlincote, near to the Gate Inn. Two vehicles were involved, a BMW and a bus.
“There are not thought to be any serious injuries at this time, but the road is currently blocked and emergency services are at the scene.”
Midland Classic, the bus company running service 213, updated passengers and put out messages to let people know the bus was running late.
Later on, the school issued a statement on their Facebook page which read: “There has been an incident this morning involving a collision between a car and a school bus heading towards The William Allitt School.
“There have been no physical injuries incurred by any student from our school.
“Staff from our school attended immediately and another bus collected the students, who are safely in school.
“Parents have been informed and we will look after our students in school today to keep them safe and well.”
A pick-up truck later arrived which removed the BMW and the bus from the scene.
After a clean-up of the scene, where debris has fallen off the vehicles, the road was reopened.