School bus crash investigated
A police serious crash unit is investigating why a school bus crashed south of Murchison on Monday afternoon, leaving eight children injured.
Murchison Area School principal Andy Ashworth said three pupils were flown to Nelson Hospital from the scene of the crash, on State Highway 65 between Maruia Saddle Rd and Pea Soup Rd. The other five were taken to Murchison Community Hospital and Health Centre, where they were assessed and allowed to go home.
A Nelson Hospital spokeswoman said no children from the crash were still in hospital yesterday. Two who were treated at the emergency department were discharged on Monday.
Ashworth said he met with the bus driver on Monday evening, and while he was ‘‘physically OK’’, he was shaken.
The bus company, Golden Bay Coachlines, said yesterday no-one from the company was available to make a public comment.
The crash happened near the end of the school’s Shenandoah bus run after 4pm.
A police spokeswoman said the bus crashed into a ditch and came to a stop leaning on its side. Members of the serious crash unit went to the scene on Monday and would be investigating the cause, she said.
Ashworth said a lack of cellphone coverage at the crash site meant he had to wait for people to move into an area with coverage to call him with updates as the incident unfolded. ‘‘I was taking lots of phone calls.’’
He thanked the emergency services, including firefighters, ambulance personnel, rescue helicopter crews and police for their assistance.
‘‘Police were on the scene within four minutes.’’
The incident ‘‘highlights absolutely the need for qualified and immediate ambulance cover in this area’’, Ashworth said, referring to a proposal to service the area with a First Response Unit and remove the two paid ambulance officers from their Murchison roles.
‘‘Touch wood, we’ve come out of this OK,’’ Ashworth said. ‘‘It could have been worse.’’
School buses were running as normal yesterday, and extra staff were available if anyone required counselling or support, he said.
SH65 between Shenandoah and Maruia was closed for a while after the crash. It was reopened by 9.40pm.