February 11, 2011
02/14/11 A 9-1-1 call to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department at 7:20 Friday morning sent emergency responders to a school bus accident on Sycamore Road north of 1st Road.
Deputy Ryan Hafke investigated the single vehicle accident that sent three students to a South Bend hospital with complaints of pain.
Dawne Cowgill was driving a bus with approximately 20 students who were headed to schools in the John Glenn School district. She told Officer Hafke that she was north bound on Sycamore Road when she drove too close to the shoulder to provide room for a south bound vehicle. Due to the ice and snow on the road and snow covered ditch, as she drove closer to the shoulder the tires of the bus sank through he snow and the buss was pulled into the ditch. The bus struck a NIPSCO utility pole, cracking the pole and causing the insulators to snap off, land on each other and short out as the bus rolled toward the passenger’s side.
Ms. Cowgill and the students were able to exit the buss and were permitted to go inside a home located near the crash until emergency personal arrived.
The driver of the southbound vehicle that passed observed the bus go into the ditch and immediately stopped and provided assistance.
Out of the approximately 20 students on the bus only 3 were transported to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with complaints of pain.
A second bus was called to transport the remaining students to school, all of which were from Urey Middle School and John Glenn High School. Parents of the students involved in the crash were notified of the accident.
Numerous emergency departments responded to the accident.