Green Valley Road reopened after accident involving school bus with children on board – KION546

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (KION-TV) – UPDATE 8/27, 6:47 p.m. – A serious accident involving a school bus in Santa Cruz County left several people injured, including students from Pajaro Valley.

The accident occurred at 7:30 a.m. this morning on Green Valley Road north of Casserly Road.

The bus remained blocked for hours while witnesses said a bus driver heroically helped over 40 students get off the bus.

The consequences of this morning's incident are still on everyone's lips.

The CHP said this head-on collision could have been much worse.

“I got dressed and came out. I saw that a car had collided head-on with a bus. Smoke was coming out of the car and then, within a minute, a fire broke out,” said witness Marianne Peixoto.

The CHP and fire department responded quickly to a school bus accident this morning in Santa Cruz County.

Emergency crews worked quickly to help Aptos High School and Middle School students exit the bus while also extinguishing the flames.

According to the CHP, one of the students subsequently suffered minor injuries.

Witnesses noticed the bus driver’s quick action.

“The bus driver did such a good job. She came out and got the kids off the bus very quickly. I would say within a minute, everyone was off the bus,” Peixoto said.

Local residents describe what they saw.

“I just heard the screeching tires and then the loud bang,” said witness Connie Cruz. “I ran over there because I knew at that point there had been an accident. It was right in front of my pole and it was horrible. Horrible.”

It is a two-lane road on Green Valley Road where, according to residents, many accidents occur.

“Unfortunately, there is a curve in the road here and people drive way too fast,” said Peixoto. “My neighbor across the street has had his fence torn down so many times that he doesn't put it up anymore. He even left the telephone pole on the ground because people drove into the fence at least four times.”

Marianne stresses that extra caution is required in this area and points out the danger that this road poses in the morning when children are walking on it.

“There are also students who either walk or are driven and transported by their parents. It's just a busy time in the morning and people really need to slow down,” Peixoto said.

The CHP says the cause of the accident is under investigation and no arrests have been made yet.

We asked the Pajaro Valley Unified School District if this would cause any disruption to bus service. They said there were no impacts and the route is covered.

Santa Cruz Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash that has closed Green Valley Road north of Casserly Road.

According to authorities, officers were called to a crash involving a car and a school bus carrying 43 children on Green Valley Road around 7:30 a.m. Only minor injuries were reported.

For reasons that are still unclear, the bus involved in the accident caught fire, but the fire brigade extinguished the fire.

This is an evolving story