Two school buses full of elementary school students collided near the intersection of Brighton Avenue and Chester Street in Brighton yesterday, injuring more than 20 people.
Nineteen students were sent to five area hospitals to be treated for injuries, none of them life-threatening, according to Boston EMS Lt. Chris Stratton. Three adults, including both drivers and a school faculty member on the bus, also sustained injuries, he said.
One of the bus drivers was cited by the police for a driving violation, according to a Boston.com article.
When a bus carrying students from nearby Jackson Mann Elementary braked suddenly to avoid hitting a pickup truck that had stopped short in front of it, a second school bus slammed into it from behind, crumpling its own front engine, Stratton said.
Soon after the collision occurred at about 1:45 p.m., at least nine ambulances joined several police cruisers, fire trucks and a mobile command center at the scene, Stratton said. The collision snarled traffic for more than 30 minutes.
“Traffic is certainly a concern, but you want to make sure that you don’t have traffic going in and out of an area that might compromise the safety of the people [at the scene],” Stratton said.
Jean Mondesir, the driver of the first bus, said he was unable to stop the vehicle because a rubber block that had been underneath his seat slipped under the brake pedal.
Boston Public Schools spokesman Jonathan Palumbo said the incident was still under investigation as of last night, and more details will be released today.
“Unfortunately, it took place right near the school,” he said, “so school staff went to the students to make sure they were okay.”
Staff reporter Ryan Meehan contributed reporting for this article.
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