A school bus serving the Blair Oaks School District was involved in what school officials characterize as a minor accident while transporting students this morning.
Superintendent Jim Jones posted to his Twitter account shortly after the crash: "Blair Oaks Bus Route #31 operated by Durham School Services was involved in a minor bus accident this morning on Dove Lake Road in Taos!" The incident occurred .25 mile north of Route M at 7:25 a.m. when the bus, which was stopped to pick up children, was hit head-on by an oncoming car.
Jones reported there were no signs of injuries to students, their bus monitor or the driver of the bus. Even though the bus on the route also routinely transports students attending St. Francis Xavier School in Taos, all of the students on board at the time attend Blair Oaks.
He told the News Tribune that the bus was stopped on the right side of the road in a residential neighborhood when the oncoming car crossed over the center of the road and struck the bus in its front bumper.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash, reports the driver of the car, 54-year-old Tonya Toebben of Jefferson City, was taken by Cole County ambulance to Capital Region Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. The bus driver was identified as Mark Saunders, 59, of Wellington, Kansas.
Following the crash, 38 students, ranging from kindergarten to grade 12, were transferred to another bus and were transported to the Blair Oaks campus in Wardsville, Jones reported.