Smithville school bus driver receives traffic ticket in crash that injured 2 students
A Smithville school bus driver has received a traffic citation after she crashed a bus filled with elementary school children on Sept. 12, flipping the vehicle on its side and injuring herself and two students.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office issued the driver, 40-year-old Alissa Batliner, a traffic citation for careless and imprudent driving when the bus overturned with 30 Smithville School District students on board, said Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the office, in a news release. The bus belongs to DS Bus Lines.
According to the crash report, Batliner was distracted when the bus went off the right side of Mt. Olivet Road, a gravel two-lane street with no shoulder, near Jami Drive and Northeast 120th Street. She over-corrected to get the bus back on the road, which caused the vehicle to overturn on its driver’s side, according to the report.
Two students and Batliner were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, where they were treated and released the same day, Boyd said.
The other children, who ranged in age from 5 to 12, were released to their families at the scene.
A Smithville parent, who lives near the crash site but didn’t have a child on board the bus, said he’s witnessed bus drivers speeding on the road before. In one instance, he said he followed a school bus on the road, and it appeared to be going 60 mph on a stretch with a 45 mph speed limit.
The parent said he complained twice in the last five years about speeding bus drivers to the school district, which said it would forward the complaints to the bus company.
“The bus drivers drive like they’re in a passenger car and not hauling people’s children,” he said. “It’s not sat well with me for a long time … we’re lucky it hasn’t happened before now, actually.”
Anna Spoerre contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 12:59 PM.
