Bus hits bus at school

BROOKSVILLE -- One teacher and 14 students were sent to area hospitals Monday after a school bus struck another at Powell Middle School shortly before 8 a.m., authorities said.

No one was seriously injured. Students complained of neck aches and bruises and were taken to Oak Hill and Spring Hill Regional hospitals, said Earl Deen, assistant principal.

Deen said one school bus had stopped to let students off and the other hit it from behind.

When he climbed aboard one bus, several students were holding and rubbing their necks. One girl complained of tenderness in her arm and another said her leg hurt.

"They looked like they were in a little pain," Deen said.

Uninjured students were sent to class. The others waited for paramedics.

School officials immediately tried to contact parents and several arrived to take their children home or to make sure that they were okay, Deen said.

"Everything is going smoothly," he said.

Lt. Joe Paez of the Sheriff's Office said the bus drivers' names were unavailable late Monday. He said he did not know whether charges had been filed against either driver.

Powell Middle School is on Barclay Road, southwest of Brooksville.

-- Jamie Jones covers law enforcement and courts in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to jjones@sptimes.com.

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