A Durango School District 9-R school bus rear-ended an SUV on Friday morning east of Hesperus when the bus driver was blinded by the rising sun. Two people suffered minor injuries.
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Blinding sun caused four two-vehicle collisions on a 500-foot stretch of U.S. Highway 160 east of Hesperus on Friday morning. Two people suffered minor injuries.
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Rescue workers and Durango School District 9R officials examine the scene of a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a school bus on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus. One student was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center by her parents with what was described as minor injuries. Photo Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
Debris spread across U.S. Highway 160 after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a Durango School District 9R school bus just East of Hesperus. Photo Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
The wreckage of a Durango School District 9R school bus after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus. One student was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center by her parents with what was described as minor injuries. . Photo Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
A member of the Durango Fire Protection District removes glass from the lanes of traffic after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a Durango School District 9R school bus on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus. Photo Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
Traffic was restricted after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a Durango School District 9R school bus on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus.Photo Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
Accident responders examine the scene of a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a Durango School District 9R school bus on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus. Photo by Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
Debris spread across U.S. Highway 160 after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning involving a Durango School District 9R school bus just East of Hesperus. There was only one minor injury reported. Photo by Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD<br>
Bus number identifier signs in thew window of a wrecked Durango School District 9R school bus after a multi-vehicle accident Friday morning on U.S. Highway 160 just East of Hesperus. Photo by Shaun Stanley/DURANGO HERALD
A Durango School District 9-R school bus ran into the rear of an SUV at 7:39 a.m. Friday on Hesperus Hill, just east of Hesperus on U.S. Highway 160.
Only two injuries were reported: the driver of the SUV and a student who suffered a bruised lip.
Colorado State Patrol Trooper Stephanie Guilfoil said bus driver Santha Huntington, momentarily blinded by brilliant sunlight, didn’t see the SUV driven by Curt Grimes of Mancos.
The SUV and the bus were traveling eastbound directly toward the rising sun when the bus rear-ended the SUV. Grimes’ vehicle was pushed to the right side of the road. The school bus came to a stop about 300 feet ahead on the right side of the highway.
Grimes was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released. A student who bruised her lip was taken by family members for a medical checkup.
Huntington was cited for careless driving that resulted in bodily injury.
District spokeswoman Julie Popp said Huntington, who has driven for the school district since 1991, has an exemplary record.
The accident was one of four similar two-vehicle crashes that occurred within a distance of 500 feet, at almost the same time for the same reason, Guilfoil said.
The roads were dry and free of ice.
The drivers of the three other offending vehicles were cited for careless driving, Guilfoil said. No one was injured in those accidents.
Students were checked by on-scene paramedics and put on a substitute bus to be taken to Durango High School. Students from Animas High School and Mountain Middle School were transported to their respective campuses.
The bus, on route FL4, had 25 students aboard.
The front windshield of the bus was shattered, and crash debris littered the highway.
Kathy Morris, the safety officer for school districts in five counties, including 9-R, was at the scene. She said students took the incident calmly.
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