5 students injured in separate crashes involving school buses

A total of five students suffered minor injuries in separate traffic crashes involving school buses Wednesday afternoon in south Wichita. Two were hospitalized, Wichita public schools spokeswoman Wendy Johnson said.

Those children, students of K-8 school Christa McAuliffe Academy, complained of injuries after bumping their heads when a vehicle backing out of a driveway near Pawnee and Hydraulic and hit their bus at 3:48 p.m., according accounts from Johnson and a Sedgwick County dispatcher.

Johnson said the two children and at least one adult — the bus driver — were aboard at the time. The children were transported to Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph “as a precaution,” she said.

In the second crash, three students from Enterprise Elementary were evaluated on-scene for possible injuries after a vehicle reportedly ran into a bus on MacArthur just east of the I-235 overpass, at 4:26 p.m. Eight children and at least one adult — the bus driver — were aboard, Johnson said.

The children hurt later were released to parents or guardians, she said.

The five Enterprise Elementary students who were unharmed boarded another bus and were taken home, Johnson said.

Enterprise Elementary is located just north and west of the crash site, at 3605 S. Gold.

Christa McAuliffe Academy is at 2055 S. 143rd St. E., north of Pawnee.

This story was originally published January 14, 2015 at 6:51 PM with the headline "5 students injured in separate crashes involving school buses."