ORTING, Wash. — Surveillance video from inside a school bus showed what appears to be a normal ride home for students from Orting high and middle schools on April 21, then suddenly students scream in terror hanging on to their seats as the bus veers off the roadway and into a ditch.
What can barely be seen in the video is the cause. The driver swatting at a bee near her head.
“Well the video tells that thank heavens I bought a bus with high back seats,” said Superintendent of Orting public schools Michelle Curry.
No one on the bus was seriously injured in the crash. “I think our students reacted very quickly, I think our first responders reacted quickly,” said Curry.
The newly purchased bus was damaged, but will be repaired and returned to service.
The bus driver, a substitute, has been fired.
“She was terminated, she received her letter on Friday.She did not return to work (after the crash) on Tuesday,” said Curry.
That driver also remains under investigation by the Washington State Patrol.
A decision on whether she will face charges is expected later this week.