A Ford pickup truck and a Henry County school bus struck each other in a head-on collision on North River Road at the U.S. 220 bypass exit in Fieldale on Friday morning.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Rick Garletts said there were no students on the bus when the crash occurred at 8:28 a.m., and he was unsure if there were any injuries.
A 911 communications dispatcher relayed information from a first responder on the scene that there were two people with injuries.
That responder also notified dispatch that the truck was on fire, and by the time the Fieldale Volunteer Fire Company arrived, it was fully engulfed in flames.
Henry County School Bus No. 54 ran into a guardrail on the northbound side of the North River Road and sustained significant damage in front. The pickup truck was destroyed.
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Garletts said the road was blocked while the vehicles were removed, and the road was cleared of debris and opened back up at 10:18 a.m.
“Following the morning bus run today, bus [No.] 54 was driving on River Road near 220 and was struck head-on by a motorist who was attempting to turn onto 220 North,” said Henry County Schools Communication Director Monica Hatchett. “There were no students on the bus at the time and our driver was not injured. The bus does have damage to the front.”
The crash was the third involving a school bus in Henry County in the same week.
On Tuesday, a vehicle collided with the side of a Henry County school bus that did not have students in it on U.S. 220. No one was injured, but Rhoedona Hester, 76, was charged with suspicion of improper lane change.
On Monday, there was a crash in the 5000 block of Appalachian Drive (Va. 57) between Henry County School bus No. 86 and a Dodge Ram pickup. The collision sent the school bus through a guardrail and down an embankment. The bus came to rest near the railroad track below.
Three students and the bus driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries, a VSP report stated, and Brandin Reece Lawson, 31, of Collinsville was charged on suspicion of reckless driving.
“As with any accident, our team convenes to debrief and review the events that occurred so that we can continue to ensure the safety of our students, staff and community,” Hatchett said on Friday.
Late Friday, Garletts said there had been yet another crash involving a school bus in neighboring Pittsylvania County.
“At 3:57 p.m. a Pittsylvania County school bus was involved in a crash with a second vehicle in the 6400 block of Climax Road,” Garletts said by email. “There were no kids on the bus, but the drivers of both vehicles were injured.”