By BY MARCIA STEFFENS / Dowagiac Daily News
EDWARDSBURG – Veteran Edwardsburg bus driver Sue Johnson saved the day, according to some eyewitnesses to a bus-sport utility vehicle accident at M-62 and Redfield Road Thursday afternoon at 4:06.
After her bus was hit by the SUV and spun around, she was able to keep the vehicle under control and not tip over.
Worrying more about her little passengers, who ranged from kindergarteners to fifth grade, she saw to their needs before having her own leg injury looked at by paramedics.
"I had only dropped off six" when the accident happened, Johnson said.
There were between 40 to 50 students still on the bus, who were picked up by their parents.
"She did a heck of a job," said Edwardsburg Superintendent of Schools Sherman Ostrander. "You think the worse," he said, on coming up to the Ontwa Township accident site.
"She worried about her kids first," he added. The bus was one of the district's new ones, he said, which was good for safety reasons.
The bus ended up in front of Krupp's Power Sports. One employee saw the bus and first thought it was going to go through the front window.
Johnson was going to the hospital, after her students were picked up, to have her leg looked at and to have mandatory tests performed.
Officer John Sailor said four minor injuries were reported from the bus.
Sailor, citing witnesses and persons involved, said the silver Jeep Grand Cherokee was westbound on Redfield Road when it failed to stop for a red light at the intersection.
The bus was struck on the passenger's side, causing the coach to twirl around in the wet roadway.
The driver and passenger of the SUV, whom police did not identify, were taken to South Bend, Ind., Memorial Hospital by Harris Township, Ind., EMS.
Sailor said an investigation is still being conducted to determine speeds and other factors contributing to the crash.
Assistance was also given by the Cass County Sheriff's Office and Edwardsburg Fire Department, according to the Ontwa Township-Edwardsburg Police Department officer.