LAUREL, Del.- A crash involving a school bus killed one person and injured over a dozen students Monday afternoon in Sussex County.
Delaware State Police say a 2013 Honda Civic was going southbound on East Trap Pond Road approaching a stop sign at the intersection of Hardscrabble in Laurel. A school was going eastbound on Hardscrabble Road nearing the same intersection; there is no stop sign on Hardscrabble Road.
DSP says, for unknown reasons, the driver of the Civic did not stop at the stop sign and continued through the intersection and directly into the path of the school bus. The bus driver tried to swerve to avoid hitting the car, but was unable to, causing the front of the bus to hit the passenger side of the Civic. The Civic overturned and went of the road. The school bus also exited the road and overturned onto its left side, according to police.
There were thirteen students from Sussex Montessori Charter School on the bus. Twelve students were taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and were later released. One student was airlifted and admitted to an area hospital for serious injuries.
The school bus driver, a 34-year-old woman from Bridgeville, was wearing her seatbelt. She was taken to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and was later released.
The driver of the Honda Civic, a 21-year-old man from Millsboro, was not wearing his seatbelt and died at the scene. Identification of the victim is pending notification to his family and relatives.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash. The roadways were closed for about five hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.
