Special Needs School Bus Crashes on I-65
Hendricks County- Occupants of a special needs school bus from the Lafayette/ Tippecanoe School Corporation, returning from a field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo escaped serious injury after a rollover crash on I-65.
Thursday afternoon, May 16th, at 2:00 p.m., Indiana State Police responded to the report of a one vehicle crash on I-65 NB at the 128 mm. (Two miles south of Old SR 334)
Preliminary investigation and witness accounts revealed that a 2009 special needs school bus was NB on I-65 at the 128 mm in the left lane. A white box truck or white box trailer being pulled by a semi tractor reportedly made an abrupt move from the right lane toward the left lane and the bus. The bus driver, Audrey Kitchel, 55, of Lafayette, steered to the left into the grass median to avoid the collision and lost control. The bus rolled over and came to rest on the wheels in the median. The other vehicle, which did not make contact with the bus, did not stop.
All 12 passengers, seven adults and 5 children ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade, were transported to St. Vincent’s and Methodists Hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries. All passengers of the bus were reported to be wearing restraints.
No citations were issued and drugs and alcohol are not suspected to be a factor in this crash. The bus driver submitted to a blood draw.
A post crash inspection of the bus by the Indiana State Police Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division revealed no mechanical failures that would have contributed to this crash.
I-65 SB lanes were diverted to I-865 for approximately one hour while the crash was investigated and the wreckage cleared.
The following information is the names of the adults riding the bus and their injuries:
Tracy Vance, 30, of Lafayette, no injuries.
Denice Hoffman, 48, of Romney, no injuries
Jackie Graff, 37, of Lafayette, back pain
Vera Dimoplon, 35, of Lafayette, neck pain
Audrey Kitchel, 55, of Lafayette, no injuries
Jolie Rahn, 46, of Lafayette, abrasion
Johanna Lopez, 25, of Lafayette, no injuries
Investigating Officers: Trooper Evan Joyner, Indianapolis District 52 and Trooper Chris Kath, Indiana State Police Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division.
Assisting Agencies: Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana Department of Transportation
-30-
MYERS
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
Register with Nixle.com to receive news releases and other information from the Indiana State Police
Follow ISP on Twitter and get breaking news from ISP as it’s sent to media: https://twitter.com/Indstatepolice
For updates about ISP activities ‘friend’ our Face book site at: Indiana State Police Public-Information-Office.
