LUNENBURG — An 18-year-old driver was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle Tuesday after crashing head-on into a school bus while texting behind the wheel, according to the Lunenburg Police Department.
Police said the crash occurred in the 1300 block of Lancaster Avenue. First responders from the Lunenburg Police Department and Lunenburg Fire Rescue arrived to find a sedan and a school bus involved in a collision.
Approximately 20 students were on board the bus at the time. No injuries were reported among the occupants of the bus or the driver of the sedan.
“The 18-year-old operator of the sedan admitted to being on their cellphone, causing them to drift into the other lane,” police stated in a post on social media. “Speed did not appear to be a factor in this case.”
The driver was charged criminally with negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Lunenburg Police credited Dee Bus Service, school personnel, and the School Resource Officer for coordinating a second bus to transport students to school safely after the crash.
In a reminder about the dangers of distracted driving, police shared that “Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed.”
More information on distracted driving is available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving.
I feel that this would really be a lesson learned if the operator of that vehicle who was texting before hitting that school bus was named