No Major Injuries in Bus Crash

A Charlotte Court House man was injured on Monday afternoon when he struck a stopped Prince Edward County School Bus.

According to the Virginia State Police, the man was traveling westbound on Abilene Road in a Ford Mustang. As he approached the intersection of Bell Calhoun Road, he failed to see a stopped school bus.

The Mustang struck the school bus at nearly highway speed, driving the Mustang under the bus and lifting the rear wheels of the bus off the ground.

The driver of the bus immediately evacuated the 16 children on board the bus to a safe distance, fearing a fuel leak and fire.

Prince Edward Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on scene along with members of the Darlington Heights Volunteer Fire Department and members of the Prince Edward County Volunteer Rescue Squad.

All of the children were checked out by the Rescue Squad and several were transported to Centra Southside Community Hospital as a precaution.
The driver of the Mustang, Douglas K. Parrish, 51, of Charlotte Courthouse, Va., was transported to Southside Community Hospital by ambulance with serious injuries. He has been charged with following too close.

Dr. David Smith, Prince Edward County Superintendent of Schools, said on Tuesday morning after a meeting with school district staff on the incident, “We were very pleased with the actions of the driver of the school bus and the response of all our staff members that responded to the scene.” “We were also impressed with the professionalism of the law enforcement and rescue personnel for helping to keep the scene calm.”

After the Squad checked all the children, parents quickly arrived and took their children home.

Once the scene had cleared of parents and children, emergency crews began the lifting the school bus so that the Mustang could be pulled out. Luckily, Darlington Heights Fire Department had finished outfitting their new Heavy Rescue truck only two hours before.

Using bottled air (from the SCBA tanks the department uses to enter structures) firefighters filled heavy rubber bags placed under the rear tires of the bus. The bus was lifted, and the Mustang was pulled free. (Visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/SouthsideMessenger for a video)

After the rear bumper and exhaust of the bus were straightened (with a little help from Gene at Farmville Towing), the bus was driven by a school employee back to Farmville.