Independence school bus incident involving 2nd grader described as “minor,” not a crash

An Independence school spokesperson is disputing reports that a second-grader crashed a bus, instead calling it a ‘very minor incident.’

On Tuesday morning, a school bus parked outside Three Tails Elementary rolled approximately six feet into another parked bus while students were onboard and a second-grader was seated in the front seat, the school spokesperson said.

The bus was traveling less than 0.5 miles per hour at the time, she said.

“This event was a very minor incident and does not meet the severity of a ‘crash.’ Describing it as such may not fully reflect the situation, given the slow speed and minimal impact involved,” Mady Grant, public relations assistant with the Independence School District, said in a statement.

Police were not notified because no damage was done to either vehicle, she said, and no injuries were reported.

“After reviewing the footage, we found that the bus driver had invited a student to sit in her seat to demonstrate some bus safety procedures. While the student was in the seat, the bus moved slowly backwards,” Grant said. “The student was not driving the bus nor was the engine running. “

Grant said while the safety demonstration was done with good intentions, it will be reviewed to prevent a similar incident in the future.

The school said they reached out directly to parents of the students on both buses.