School bus, delivery truck collide on icy rural Franklin County road
A school bus trying to avoid a UPS truck slid off a rural Franklin County road Thursday morning.
A Star Elementary School bus with four students onboard was on McClenny Road in the northern part of the county when the driver tried to avoid an approaching UPS truck about 10:15 a.m.
The compact snow and ice on the road caused them to slide into each other, Franklin County Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Herald. The collision sent the bus over the edge of the road and down an embankment, Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Herald.
The UPS truck ended up in the embankment on the other side.
Nearby farmers helped the children and bus driver out of the bus, and took them to the Star School.
The four students weren’t hurt and the driver of the UPS truck was not injured. But the bus driver was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
The Washington State Patrol commercial vehicles division will investigate, Harris said.
Freezing fog caused extremely slick roads and highways throughout the region Thursday. Pasco and North Franklin schools were on 2-hour delayed starts because of the winter conditions.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 12:02 PM.