Nearly three dozen West Fork students escape injury following traffic accident Monday

A West Fork school bus was Thornton-bound following the dismissal of school Monday afternoon and, while the 33 students onboard eventually made it to the Thornton-Meservey area safely, the bus, described by West Fork Superintendent Darrin Strike as a reliable vehicle with high mileage from the Sheffield-Chapin School era, never did.

The bus was shuttling elementary and middle school students to the Meservey and Thornton areas at approximately 3:25 p.m., according to Strike. The bus, headed westbound on County Road B60, was stricken by an eastbound vehicle near the intersection of the county road and Interstate 35.

Bus operator Stacey Jones, 57, of Sheffield was able to maneuver the vehicle far enough onto the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision, Strike stated. The oncoming vehicle, operated by driver Joseph Jackson, 20, of Rockwell crossed the center line of B60, made contact with the bus just behind the front driver's side wheel, and scraped along the full length of the bus to the back wheel, which the vehicle knocked off completely.

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