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A car ran a red light on Highway 29 and hit a school bus that was exiting Highway 37 in Vallejo.

Highway accident: Both drivers were injured Tuesday night when a car and a school bus crashed into a retaining wall on a Highway 37 onramp in Vallejo.

•   A school bus exited Highway 37 and was making a left turn onto Highway 29.

•   A car ran a red light on Highway 29 and crashed into the school bus.

•   Both vehicles then crashed into a retaining wall. 

•   Both drivers were injured.

The accident occurred at about 9:20 p.m., according to a news report in the Vallejo Times-Herald.

Witnesses told California Highway Patrol officers that the school bus exited Highway 37 and was making a left turn onto Highway 29 when an Acura traveling northbound on Highway 29 ran a red light.

The Acura crashed into the school bus, which was not carrying any passengers. The impact forced both vehicles into a retaining wall on an adjacent Highway 37 ramp.

The bus driver was transported to a hospital to be treated for “minor injuries” he suffered in the accident. (See description of minor injuries below.)

The Acura driver was trapped in his vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency workers. He also was taken to a hospital.

Authorities said there were no passengers on the school bus and no other injuries were reported.

What is a minor injury?

Police and firefighter classifications of “minor injuries” can be misleading. Even a so-called “minor” injury may be far more serious than it initially appears and can have a major impact on the victim’s life. Some injuries aren’t even evident until days or weeks after an accident.

Injuries that are designated as “minor” may include whiplash, strains, sprains, lacerations, and bone fractures. All of these types of injuries may vary in severity.

* Whiplash, for example, is neck injury caused by sudden jerking or “whipping” of the head, as often occurs in car accidents, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It may not be noticed for several days, yet it can cause stiffness and numbness in the head, neck, back, shoulders, and arms. The initial symptoms may appear to go away and then return for months or even years, according to the NIH report.

* Strains and sprains are soft tissue injuries. Strains can cause pain, muscle spasms, swelling, and trouble moving the muscle, according to the NIH. Sprains involve pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move the joint. Initial treatment often requires taking time off work to rest the injury, sometimes followed by longer-term physical therapy.

* Lacerations include cuts, tears, and puncture wounds. A variety of factors determine how quickly a laceration may heal. Infection is always a risk with a laceration, and this risk can be particularly dangerous for diabetics. Even minor lacerations may cause permanent scars.

* Bone fractures are very common in car accidents. They can be extremely painful, and may involve swelling, bruising, or bleeding as well as numbness, tingling, and the inability to move a limb. Some fractures require surgery to implant plates, pins, or screws to keep the bone in place. The impact of a fracture on daily activities is immediate and often disabling. Follow-up surgery and physical therapy may stretch the recovery period to months.

Vallejo Highway Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A school bus driver was arrested on DUI charges after she struck and killed an elderly woman. (Photo: Ventura County Star)

Fatal DUI crash: A school bus driver was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance when she struck and killed an elderly woman trying to cross the street Wednesday in Ventura.

•    A school bus driver who recently underwent back surgery struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in a  crosswalk. 

•    Investigators said the driver failed a field sobriety test and that she was under the influence of a controlled substance. 

•    The driver was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI.

•    None of the 11 children on the bus was hurt.

The tragic pedestrian accident occurred at 2:55 p.m., according to a report in the Ventura County Star.

The California Highway Patrol said the bus, driven by 54-year-old Ventura resident Joanne Madaule, had 11 disabled children aboard when the accident occurred.

Madaule was driving nortbound on Brookshire Avenue at a very slow rate of speed when she turned left onto Woodland Street and hit 75-year-old Marguerita McIntosh, also of Ventura.

CHP officer Steve Reid said McIntosh was in the crosswalk and was crossing the street legally when she was hit by the bus. She suffered severe head injuries and was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center in critical condition. She died from her injuries at 6:38 p.m., according to the Star report.

No other injuries were reported. The children were not physically hurt, but school officials said extra counselors would be available to make sure the kids were all right after the trauma they witnessed.

Officer Reid said a drug recognition evaluator determined that Madaule was under the influence of a controlled substance. She was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence.

Madaule’s husband told CBS News that investigators made a mistake. He said his wife had undergone back surgery a week ago and still had IV needle marks on her arms. He said he believes that blood tests will prove Madaule was not on drugs at the time of the accident.

CHP officials confirmed that Madaule had failed a field sobriety test, according to ABC News. Reid said final blood test results would be forwarded to the District Attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges against the bus driver.

Ventura Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A passenger in a Jeep was killed when the driver ran a red light and was struck by a school bus in Rancho Cordova. (Photos: Channel 10 News)

Fatal car accident: One person was killed and two others injured Tuesday when a Jeep ran a red light and collided with a school bus in a rural area of Rancho Cordova, about 17 miles east of downtown Sacramento.

Police suspect the driver of the Jeep was under the influence of alcohol.

•   A drunk driver ina Jeep Cherokee ran a red light at a busy intersection and was broadsided by an empty school bus.

•   A passenger in the Jeep was killed. The bus driver was hospitalized with minor to moderate injuries.

•   The Jeep driver sustained major injuries and was expected to be arrested for drunk driving.

The accident occurred at about 3:50 p.m., according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jasper Begay said a 1996 Jeep Cherokee, driven by a 50-year-old woman whose identity was not released, was traveling westbound on Jackson Highway at the time of the accident.

The Jeep ran a red light at Sunrise Boulevard. An Elk Grove Unified School District bus was traveling southbound on Sunrise and could not stop in time to avoid slamming into the passenger side of the Jeep.

The male passenger riding in the front seat of the Jeep — later identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s office as 66-year-old Lawrence Perez of Sacramento – was killed on impact. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Jeep suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital to be treated. Begay said the woman would be arrested on drunk driving charges.

The school bus driver was hospitalized with minor to moderate injuries, Begay said. There were no passengers on the bus.

 Sacramento Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented drunk driving accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Four people were injured when a car crashed into a school bus in Orange Cove.

Four people were injured – one critically — in a school bus accident Monday in Orange Cove, about 35 miles southeast of Fresno.

•   A car crashed into a school bus at an intersection.

•   The school bus driver and two students were hospitalized with minor injuries. 

•   The driver of the car was airlifted to a trauma center in critical condition.

The injury accident occurred shortly before 8 a.m., according to an article in the Fresno Bee.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the Kings Canyon Unified School District bus, driven by 50-year-old Elizabeth K. Bear of Squaw Valley, was carrying 10 students en route to Orange Cove High School and McCord Elementary School in Orange Cove.

The bus was at the intersection of Manning and Anchor avenues when a Honda Civic crashed into it, according to a KMPH News report.

The driver of the Honda, 25-year-old Livier Herrera of Orange Cove, sustained critical injuries in the collision and was airlifted via helicopter to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, the CHP report said. The exact nature and extent of her injuries was not immediately known.

Bear suffered a knee injury. She and two injured students were taken via ground ambulance to Adventist Medical Center in Reedley. The students’ injuries were characterized as minor.

What is a minor injury?

Police and firefighter classifications of “minor injuries” can be misleading. Even a so-called “minor” injury may be far more serious than it initially appears and can have a major impact on the victim’s life. Some injuries aren’t even evident until days or weeks after an accident.

Injuries that are designated as “minor” may include whiplash, strains, sprains, lacerations, and bone fractures. All of these types of injuries may vary in severity.

* Whiplash, for example, is neck injury caused by sudden jerking or “whipping” of the head, as often occurs in car accidents, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It may not be noticed for several days, yet it can cause stiffness and numbness in the head, neck, back, shoulders, and arms. The initial symptoms may appear to go away and then return for months or even years, according to the NIH report.

* Strains and sprains are soft tissue injuries. Strains can cause pain, muscle spasms, swelling, and trouble moving the muscle, according to the NIH. Sprains involve pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move the joint. Initial treatment often requires taking time off work to rest the injury, sometimes followed by longer-term physical therapy.

* Lacerations include cuts, tears, and puncture wounds. A variety of factors determine how quickly a laceration may heal. Infection is always a risk with a laceration, and this risk can be particularly dangerous for diabetics. Even minor lacerations may cause permanent scars.

* Bone fractures are very common in car accidents. They can be extremely painful, and may involve swelling, bruising, or bleeding as well as numbness, tingling, and the inability to move a limb. Some fractures require surgery to implant plates, pins, or screws to keep the bone in place. The impact of a fracture on daily activities is immediate and often disabling. Follow-up surgery and physical therapy may stretch the recovery period to months.

 Fresno Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented motor vehicle accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

An 84-year-old woman was struck and killed by a school bus in Fortuna, 20 miles south of Eureka..

Fatal pedestrian accident: School district officials announced on Wednesday that a school bus driver was placed on leave after she struck and killed an 84-year-old woman in a Fortuna crosswalk, about 20 miles south of Eureka.

•   A school bus transporting 18 elementary school children turned left at an intersection and struck an elderly pedestrian in the crosswalk.

•   The bus completely ran over the pedestrian, with both the front and rear tires.

•   The victim died at the scene.

Fortuna Union High School District Superintendent Glen Senestraro said 60-year-old driver Helen Belloni has been placed on leave after the accident, according to an article in the Eureka Times-Standard.

The accident occurred on Tuesday at 7:39 a.m., the California Highway Patrol accident report stated.

CHP officer Paul Dahlen said Belloni was turning left from School Road onto Rohnerville Road when she struck 84-year-old Audrey McRoberts in a crosswalk. McRoberts, who lived with her son close to the scene of the accident, was out for her daily morning walk.

The left side of the bus struck McRoberts and then completely ran over her with both the front and rear tires, Deputy County Coroner Roy Horton said.

”The entire weight of the school bus went over her,” Horton told the Times-Standard.

The victim died at the scene.

Why Belloni did not see the McRoberts is not clear. At least 10 people witnessed the accident, CHP officials said. Some of them said McRoberts was in Belloni’s blind spot, but others said the victim was in plain sight. The CHP report said McRoberts was inside of the crosswalk.

“It’s a terrible, terrible accident,” Dahlen told the Times-Standard.

Dahlen said neither drugs nor alcohol were involved. Belloni was not arrested at the scene. Dahlen said it will be up to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office to decide whether they want to file vehicular manslaughter charges against her.

Both the victim and the school bus driver were well-loved members of the community. The tragic accident has been devastating to the school and the entire community, officials said. Counseling services were offered to students affected by the accident.

”We sent a team of psychologists and counselors to the schools,”  Humboldt County Office of Education Assistant Superintendent Richard Hanger told the Times-Standard. “Services were offered throughout that immediate area.”

There were 18 elementary school students on the bus at the time of the accident. No one was injured.

Eureka Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented pedestrian accident victims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Six developmentally disabled students were injured in a school bus accident in Fullerton.

School bus accident: Six La Sierra High School students were injured Thursday after a pickup truck slammed into their school bus in Fullerton.

•   A school bus carrying developmentally disabled students was turning left when it was hit by a pickup truck in an intersection.

•   Six of the students aboard the bus suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to hospitals to be treated.

•   Neither driver was injured.

The accident occurred near the intersection of State College Boulevard and Dorothy Lane at about 2 p.m., according to a CBS News report.

Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said the school bus,  which belonged to the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, was traveling northbound on State College Boulevard when the accident occurred.

When the bus attempted to make a left turn onto Dorothy Lane, it was struck by a pickup truck that was traveling south on State College Boulevard.

The students — who are developmentally disabled and range in age from 16 to 22 years old — were taken off of the bus. Six of them were taken to hospitals to be treated. Five of them suffered relatively minor injuries, while another suffered minor-to-moderate injuries, Goodrich told NBC News.

Both drivers declined medical treatment.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident, as is standard protocol when a school bus is involved.

School Bus Accident Statistics

School buses are by far the safest way to get to school,  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spokesman Eric Bolton told WebMD.

“The safety record of school transportation is just about untouched by any other mode,” Bolton said.

School buses carry 24 million students and travel more than 4 billion miles each year. Considering that, school bus fatalities are extremely rare — 0.2 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The rate of deaths in automobiles is eight times higher.

But statistics and percentages don’t tell the whole story, especially to the parents of the 149 school-age children who were killed in school bus accidents between 1998 and 2008 [source: School Transportation-Related Crashes | NHTSA | 2008].

Over two-thirds (69 percent) of those children were killed by school buses. Seven percent were killed by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 24 percent by other vehicles involved in the crashes. About one-half (47 percent) of all school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7.

Fullerton School Bus Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented motor vehicle accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

School bus accident: More than 20 Lake Arrowhead students were injured Monday when a broken radiator hose spewed hot liquid and noxious fumes into the passenger cabin.

•   A school bus radiator hose burst and sprayed hot antifreeze on children’s legs. It also spewed noxious fumes into the bus.

•   The bus driver eventually pulled over to the shoulder and called for a replacement bus, but many of the children suffered minor burn injuries and breathing difficulty.

•   The children were taken to area hospitals to be treated.

The accident occurred at about 8:40 a.m., according to an ABC News report.

The bus was carrying 50 students to Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School when it overheated on Highway 18, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Tracey Martinez said.  A radiator hose burst, spraying hot antifreeze on the children’s legs and spewing fumes into the bus.

“Everyone was breathing it in the bus,” 11-year-old student Joey Frisbie, told ABC News. Frisbie said the fumes made it difficult to breathe, so he stuck his head out of the window to try to get fresh air. He told his  brother to do the same thing. Frisbie said the bus driver told them not to do that.

The boy’s mother, Shannell Frisbie, was upset about that.

“The protocol should have been to immediately get the children off the bus,” she said. “That was the most irritating part to me. I didn’t even know my children had been affected in any kind of way.”

She took both of her sons to the hospital to be checked out. The 11-year-old had a visible rash on his arms and face, and his 13-year-old brother complained of burning lungs.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Holzberger — whose 12-year-old daughter was on the bus — said the bus driver did pull over to the shoulder just west of Santa’s Village. Holzberger told the San Bernardino Sun that some of the fluid got onto his daughter’s legs but she was not seriously injured. He said that some of the other students complained they were having a difficult time breathing due to the fumes.

Another bus was dispatched to pick up the uninjured students to take them to school, Holzberger said.

Initially, three students who had minor burn injuries and six who were having difficulty breathing were taken to hospitals to be treated, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Tracey Martinez told the Associated Press.

Twelve more students developed breathing difficulties after they were taken to school in the replacement bus. They also were taken to area hospitals to be treated, Martinez said.

The injured students were treated at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino, and Mountains Community Hospital in Lake Arrowhead.

Donna Kellogg, interim superintendent for the Rim of the World Unified School District, said the school bus accident occurred after a clamp on the heater core came loose. Investigators were inspecting the 1994 Thomas bus to determine the cause of the mechanical failure.

California School Bus Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented children injured in school bus accidents and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.