Onaway school bus tips on its side after driver swerves to miss deer

Accidents involving deer happen all of the time in Michigan. Monday morning?s accident that resulted in an Onaway Area Community Schools bus falling on its side involved a deer and some unfortunate circumstances. The location was probably the worst of them.

The driver of the bus, who was on his morning route, swerved to miss a deer on Tucker Road in Forest Township. In the area of the crash there is a three-foot drop on the south edge of the road.

Once the bus left the roadway the driver had no chance of driving back out. The vehicle came to stop, and as it did, rolled on its side.

SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT Bob Szymoniak drove out to the scene of the accident. Already knowing there were no serious injuries, he was there to assess the situation.

In talking with the investigating trooper, had the accident occurred in another area of Tucker Road, the driver would have had more room to correct the vehicle and could have stayed out of the ditch.

?It?s such a sheer drop from the shoulder of the road down into the ditch,? said Szymoniak.

Eighteen school children, ages seven to 17, along with the bus driver, occupied the bus at the time. Due to the slow speed of the crash, only minor injuries were reported.

?I thought our transportation supervisor, Dean Dittmar, did an outstanding job in the handling the situation,? he said. ?I also think the driver handled the situation well. He did what he is supposed to do.?

GIVEN THE fact that the bus had tipped over, Dittmar made the call to send the paramedics.

?The driver reported there were no injuries, but we still proceeded on the side of caution,? said Szymoniak. ?I saw no visible injuries and they all seemed to be okay. They did not seem to be that shook.

?The paramedics were

outstanding. They were very good with the children. They checked every child and deemed there were no serious injuries. Some of the children complained of bumped heads, bumped shoulders, which is very understandable.?

School officials were still waiting Wednesday to have the insurance adjuster look at the bus. There is damage to a front fender and windows on the door.

If the bus were parked alongside the others from the fleet it would be difficult to point out the one involved in the mishap. ?I don?t want people to be left with the impression that this bus is totally mangled. It is not at all.?

The driver is on paid administrative leave, ?until we get this all figured out.?