VIDEO: Nonfatal crash in Spackenkill demonstrates bus safety

Rush hour was just getting underway.

A school bus made its way on a routine trip down one of Dutchess County's major thoroughfares.

And the nine students on board were likely anticipating the start of yet another typical day in the classroom.

That's when a sedan traveling in the opposite direction on Spackenkill Road struck a minivan from behind, crossed the double-yellow lines and collided with the school bus. The bus driver lost control. Her vehicle overturned. It landed on its side.

By the time firefighters arrived, everyone on board the bus had escaped. No one — including the children involved in the accident — suffered life-threatening injuries.

School buses are "designed, engineered and manufactured with the safety of the kids in mind," said Peter Mannella, executive director of the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, a nonprofit professional association.

Just one percent of more than 1,200 accidents involving school buses in New York in the past three years have resulted in a fatality, according to the state Department of Transportation. From 2012 through 2014, there were 1,213 accidents involving school buses statewide, according to DOT data. Of those, only 13 involved fatalities.

Between 1960 and 2013, 112 students have died while riding in, entering or exiting a school bus, according to the state Education Department. And these statistics, officials said, underscore the safety record of school buses like the one that overturned on Spackenkill Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie Wednesday.

No charges were filed and neither alcohol nor drugs appear to have played a role in the incident, said Capt. Paul Lecomte of the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department. The investigation continues today, Thursday. Lecomte declined to identify the drivers.

The three-car accident occurred at about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Spackenkill Road and Cedar Valley Road, police said. The students were on their way to three Poughkeepsie-area private schools — St. Martin de Porres, Our Lady of Lourdes High School and Tabernacle Christian Academy.

A 41-year-old Rosendale woman driving a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country minivan had stopped in the eastbound lane of Spackenkill Road and was waiting for westbound traffic to clear, police said. She was waiting to make a left turn onto Cedar Valley Road.

The Wappingers Central School District school bus, operated by a 48-year-old Wappingers Falls woman, was traveling westbound on Spackenkill Road.

A 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier sedan driven by a 21-year-old Poughkeepsie woman was traveling eastbound and struck the Chrysler Town & Country minivan, police said. The Cavalier continued traveling and collided with the full-size school bus. The school bus came to rest on a slight uphill slope, with its undercarriage visible. The site is near St. Martin de Porres Church.

The students on the bus and their driver were taken by ambulance to MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center.

The driver of the Cavalier, who was traveling alone, had to be extricated from her vehicle, officials said. She was also taken by ambulance to MidHudson Regional Hospital. Neither the driver of the Town & Country minivan, nor her four passengers, all children, were injured.

MidHudson Regional Hospital Director of Marketing and Communications Angela Fulton said the patients were in good condition. She declined comment when asked about specific details of the injuries.

Four of the students attend Our Lady of Lourdes, said Christine Kolosky, the school's director of marketing and enrollment. Kolosky declined comment when asked about the extent of the injuries, the ages and grades of the students and whether they were male or female.

Two of the students attend Tabernacle Christian Academy, said principal Tim Hostetter. He was uncertain of the extent of the injuries to the seventh-grade boy and third-grade girl. Messages left with St. Martin de Porres and the Wappingers Central School District were not returned.

Mannella said the buses weigh between 26,000 and 28,000 pounds with a center of gravity that sits above most other vehicles.

Surrounding the students is a steel frame that must meet federal specifications. The spacing between the seats, the height of the seat backs and the shapes of their frames are designed to minimize injury, Mannella said.

"It is designed to protect them from most front and rear impacts and even some side impacts," he said.

The seats do not necessarily protect students in rollovers, however.

State law requires all school buses manufactured after July 1, 1987 to be equipped with seat belts. However, the state does not mandate seat-belt use on school buses. That decision is left to individual school districts.

Mannella said that while some have advocated making seat-belt use mandatory, there is no "definitive" research that confirms seat belts "make a difference in terms of safety."

He said debates over mandatory seat-belt usage must be balanced against costs and the efficient loading and unloading of children.

Mannella said about 20 of the state's 700 school districts mandate seat-belt usage on their school buses, and that some do it primarily to minimize disruptions between students on longer, rural routes.

John Ferro: 845-437-4816; jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @PoJoEnviro

John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsie journal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo

Amanda Purcell: apurcell@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4807; Twitter: amandajpurcell; Facebook: www.facebook.com/pojopurcell

AT A GLANCE

School bus accidents in New York.

Source: New York State DOT