Columbia school bus hit by two cars

At approximately 3:20 p.m., a van rear-ended a school bus at the intersection of Brown Station Road and Sherwood Drive. Patrol Officer Jason McClintic, left, and Adam Algiere of Economy Towing survey the damage.   ¦  CLAY MCGLAUGHLIN/Missourian

COLUMBIA — A Columbia Public School District bus was hit by a Toyota Sienna minivan and Buick LeSabre on the corner of Brown Station Road and Sherwood Drive at about 3:18 p.m. Friday.

The bus driver, Lasonta Miller, said she was doing a routine stop and then heard a loud smack.

The accident was caused by the Buick LeSabre, driven by Callista Grace, which struck the minivan, driven by Jessica Shirley and forced it into the school bus.*

Following the accident, Miller evacuated the children off the bus, and Emergency Medical Service workers checked the students for injuries.

The 30 to 35 students on the bus from Oakland Junior High School and Lange Middle School received only minor injuries, said Nick Boren, chief operations officer of Columbia Public Schools.

The only person hurt in the accident was the driver of the minivan, who was transported by a privately owned vehicle for medical attention.

“(It was) nothing major to speak of,” said Gary Warren, Columbia fire battalion chief. “We were very fortunate that nobody was injured.”

Grace, who hit the minivan, and the two children in Shirley's minivan were reported as having no injuries.