Truck hits Guilderland school bus

— Photo from Jeff Perlee

On Thursday morning, a truck rear-ended a Guilderland school bus on the Berne-Altamont Road.

GUILDERLAND — A Guilderland school bus was rear-ended by an F-550 work truck on Thursday morning on the Berne-Altamont Road.

There were about 10 middle school students on the bus when the bus driver stopped to pick up a student, according to Guilderland Superintendent Marie Wiles.

“Kids were bounced around a little bit,” she said. “I’m sure it was a very scary moment for the people in the bus.”

Sabrina Sobieski, the mother of a 14-year-old who was on the bus, said that her son suffered whiplash from the accident.

Guilderland Police and Emergency Medical Services came to the scene. Guilderland Police did not immediately respond to Enterprise questions about whether any tickets were issued.

“It was not weather-related,” Wiles said of the accident.

The only person transported by ambulance to a hospital was the bus driver, said Wiles. The driver was checked out as standard protocol, she said.

“I think he was shaken up,” Wiles said, adding on Thursday evening that he now seems fine.

The children were either picked up by parents at the scene or went to school where they were checked by the school nurse, Wiles said.

She concluded, “This is a good example of how safe our school buses are. Everyone was safe.” Families should feel secure, she said, putting their children on school buses.

“Even when the worst happens, they are built to last …,” said Wiles, “and our drivers are outstanding.”

More Guilderland News

  • The town board agreed on legal action to respond to a suit filed by Burger King, claiming the town is responsible for flooding and to seek reimbursement from St. Peter’s Hospital due to long ambulance waits.

  • One Guilderland resident proposed an award for a student essay on democracy. Another resident questioned the school’s policy on daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. And a middle-school French teacher spoke about teaching liberty and justice in her classroom.

  • When the paid GEMS squad took over from the volunteer Western Turnpike Rescue Squad, McGaughnea said, “The ones that we originally bought, we bought from Western Turnpike and they don’t really fit the way we operate as an ALS ambulance,” he said of Advance Life Support.

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