Ten Rock Hill School District students were treated and released from Ashland, Ky.

Wednesday, January 26, 2000

Ten Rock Hill School District students were treated and released from Ashland, Ky., hospitals Monday afternoon following a school bus accident.

At about 3:30 p.m., a district school bus driven by Kathy D. Joseph, 318 County Road 45, Ironton, made a routine stop.

As the young passengers stepped off the bus onto County Road 23, just a tenth of a mile north of County Road 400, a United Parcel Service (UPS) truck driver began improperly backing his vehicle, said Ohio Highway Patrol dispatcher Mark Duncan. The truck was driven by Timothy R. Dillow, 516 Kenwood Drive, Russell, Ky.

"The school bus was northbound on County Road 23 and stopped to let a student off the bus," he said. "The UPS truck was southbound and started backing his vehicle in a northbound direction."

Although details remain slightly confusing, the back end of the UPS vehicle apparently collided with the back end of the school bus, jolting students still seated on the school transport.

Four Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Service ambulances were dispatched to the scene to handle the overflow of students in need of medical attention, none of whom received serious injuries in the accident.

"The damage to both vehicles is listed as light damage," Duncan said. "There were no serious injuries noted in the report, but 10 people were transported."

All 10 were students.

No other vehicles were reportedly involved in the incident, which tied up afternoon traffic on the county route while OHP officials investigated the accident’s cause and fault.

"The UPS driver, Mr. Dillow, was issued a citation for improper backing," Duncan said. "The injured parties were transported to both King’s Daughters Medical Center and Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital."

Students who were not transported to area hospitals were taken home by district transportation. The district officials were immediately notified of the accident and visited the accident scene and helped contact parents of potentially injured students.

The bus driver, Ms. Joseph, did not receive any citations for wrongdoing related to the accident, which was determined to be the fault of the UPS vehicle driver by OHP troopers.