BRAZORIA COUNTY, TX – A Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District bus driver and a student had to be airlifted to hospital on Thursday morning following a collision with a dump truck in Brazoria County, Texas. According to the district officials, the school bus was on its secondary route when it crashed around 6:45 a.m. at a construction site at the intersection of County Road 353 and Highway 36.
Local news initially reported that the bus was carrying a total of 21 students at the time of the crash. However, officials from the district later confirmed that there were indeed 34 students on board. All students, except for one injured individual, were evaluated and subsequently released to their parents or sent to school.
Following the incident, the Texas Department of Transportation shut down several lanes on Highway 36 from FM 522 to CR 354.
Officials from the Department of Public Safety said the confusion stemmed from the stop and slow signs being used by the construction workers, which caused the bus driver to misinterpret traffic movement. The dump truck was reportedly reversing when the collision occurred, however, the specifics are still unclear.
The district has not shared additional information concerning the incident. This comes a week after a driver hit a Fort Bend ISD school bus in southwest Houston, a crash that resulted in no injuries.