Crazy morning..

United States
March 2, 2017 5:41pm CST
Yesterday the temperature was about 60 degrees. We had some rain and wind. Sometime overnight the temps dropped below freezing. This morning I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow.. Due to the changes in temperature, the roads were very slippery. I left for work at about my usual time. I always leave early regardless of the weather. As I drove by our main 4 corners I noticed a heavy police presence, which isn't normal in our small town. Then I looked up the hill that heads towards the schools and saw ambulance, fire trucks, more police... just a mess of flashing lights, and the road was totally blocked off. As a typical mom I immediately wanted to check that my kids had gotten to school safely. At this point they should have already been at school, they start at 7:30 and this was about quarter to 8... but you never know. I texted my high schoolers, and my son immediately texted back. My kids were okay.. But he named a couple friends and said "They were on that bus.." I didn't even know a bus was involved, as I couldn't see a thing except the flashing lights.. Apparently the bus slipped on the icy roads and ended up being hit by 6 cars! All the kids were okay though.. I don't know about any of the people in the other vehicles. I made it to work and texted my husband to let him know I was safe and the kids were safe in case he had heard about the bus accident. He told me that the elementary school had just declared a 2 hour delay, but our youngest son was already on the bus!! So he had to call the school to figure out what needed to be done about our son. It turns out, the kids that were already on the bus were dropped off at the school, most of the staff was already there, so the kids were just going to hang out in the cafeteria, play games, have some breakfast, etc and wait until the rest of the kids showed up for classes to start. What a crazy start to our Thursday! Thankfully everything seems to have turned out okay. I don't think there were any serious injuries in the bus accident this morning as there is no news reports about it at all.. and there would certainly be news reports if there were serious injuries.. and thankfully none of the kids were hurt at all!
9 people like this
10 responses
@shaggin (71573)
• United States
2 Mar 17
Wow that sounds really crazy. What a relief no children were hurt. Hopefully no one in the cars were either. I hate this cold weather icy roads is a huge fear of mine. Here this would not have happened. If the roads are icy anywhere in the district school is delayed or cancelled until it can be cleaned up. Declaring a two hour delay after busses have already picked the children up would not happen! Regardless I am just glad none of the kids on that bus were hurt and glad you made it to work safely as well.
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Mar 17
I don't think they realized the roads were as icy as they were. You wouldn't have thought anything of it just by the looks of the roads.. it was just a light dusting of snow and it wasn't too cold.. it was around 30. But because of the drastic drop in temperatures there were icy spots so that made it a difficult commute.
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Mar 17
I guess once a vehicle stops unexpectedly for whatever reason, the chances of cars piling up behind is very real.
• United States
3 Mar 17
Especially on slippery roads. I guess the bus slipped sideways so it ended up blocking the entire road.
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Mar 17
@JudyEv I heard all the kids went into someone's house nearby to stay warm
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 That would really make things difficult for a while.
@GardenGerty (157027)
• United States
11 Mar 17
Over the years designers have worked hard to try to make the bus bodies safe. Kids can still get hurt. Crazy weather is scary at times. I am glad everyone was okay.
• United States
12 Mar 17
I later found out the kids weren't on the bus when it was hit.. the bus skidded and the driver quickly got everyone off.. then the other cars started piling up.
@much2say (53654)
• Los Angeles, California
3 Mar 17
Oh that sounds scary - extra scary for me because I don't know how to drive in snow or ice . . . I can't even imagine how it would to drive a bus in snow or ice. Well I'm glad all were ok . . . your family and everyone else's family. It's quite alarming to hear about an accident that could potentially involve people you know - especially if it's local - what a relief to hear that everyone has been accounted for and it wasn't serious!
• United States
3 Mar 17
It's easy to lose control of your vehicle in snow and ice. You have to drive slower, you have to start stopping sooner.. you cannot slam on the brakes or you'll slide. You have to pump the brakes softly until you come to a stop. You also can't hit the accelerator too hard or you'll slip. But these are all things we know as we've driven in snow our whole lives. That bus driver knew it too.. But accidents happen all the time, even to the best of drivers. Just a couple months ago I was doing everything right, but suddenly the car just went sideways. Thankfully there weren't any other vehicles near me so no accidents occurred and I was able to straighten the car out again.
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
3 Mar 17
Thank goodness everyone was ok. Our friends are flying home to NY today from Florida for the weekend and saw the awful temps. My brother is thankful to be coming to Florida today. He said it was so windy.
• United States
3 Mar 17
It's warming up on Monday.. but it's going to be a very cold weekend
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Mar 17
@DianneN 15 degrees for a high today! But it was sunny so as long as you weren't outside it wasn't bad. I drove around a bit and had to turn down the heat in the car.. the sun was providing enough warmth. But pumping gas, I felt like I got frostbite on my nose!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
4 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 Stay warm. It will end soon!
@Morleyhunt (21578)
• Canada
3 Mar 17
The temperature dropped dramatically overnight. The predicted snow didn't materialize. This afternoon we did finally see a few flakes. Glad no one was hurt.
• United States
3 Mar 17
@Morleyhunt We haven't gotten much either. I'm not complaining!
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21578)
• Canada
3 Mar 17
@katsmeow1213 usually we get a lot of snow. This winter most of it has missed us.
@Tampa_girl7 (48855)
• United States
3 Mar 17
Thank goodness no one was hurt.
@just4him (303340)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
3 Mar 17
I'm glad no one was hurt and your kids are all okay.
• United States
3 Mar 17
I just heard from a mom who did have kids on that bus. She said most of the cars ended up just sliding off the road.. only one car actually hit the bus, but all the kids were already off the bus so nobody was hurt.
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
3 Mar 17
So glad to hear the kids on the bus were ok, and everyone is your family is safe.
@reskyyandi (3616)
• Indonesia
6 Mar 17
It also rainy in here Rain didn't stop coming after 4 days