Indiana school bus crash: 1 dead, 10 taken to hospital after car strikes bus

OWEN COUNTY, Ind. — One person died and 10 others went to area hospitals after a car collided with a school bus in Indiana, authorities said.

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According to WXIN and WANE, the incident occurred about 4 p.m. Thursday on State Road 67 near Culross Road in Owen County. A Spencer-Owen Community Schools bus carrying 12 students was headed northbound when its driver “had to make evasive maneuvers to avoid a southbound passenger car that was driving erratically and had entered the northbound lane,” Indiana State Police said in a news release. The car then struck the bus head-on, authorities said.

The driver of the car, whose name has not been released, died in the crash, the news outlets reported. Emergency crews took nine of the students to nearby hospitals for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police said. The family of the bus driver, 56-year-old Taresa L. Tharpe, took her to the hospital, as well, WXIN reported.

“Superintendent Andy Cline commends the bus driver for their actions immediately following the accident during a time of crisis,” Spencer-Owen Community Schools said in a statement following the incident.

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