11/10/09 Bend

By Doug Johnson

A school bus and a SUV collide Tuesday afternoon, shutting down Murphy Road in Bend for almost an hour. The SUV was parked at the corner of Murphy and Parrell Road. The driver got in and failed to stop at a stop sign.

"He failed to yield, and turned left, in front of the bus, and they had a collision right in the intersection," says Sgt. Greg Owens, with the Bend Police Department.

Both the bus driver and driver of the SUV were ok. So were the four students from High Desert Middle School on the bus, despite not having seat belts. But typically there are no seat belts on most school buses, in the nation.

"Because they are really less safe than no belts at all," says Denice Blake, Bend La Pine School District's Transportation Supervisor.

Federal tests have shown that belts create a pivot point, causing kids to crush their skulls going forward, and breaking their neck going back.

"Without the seat belts the whole body goes forward into the foam interior of the seat in front of them, and the crash test dummies had things like broken collar bones and broken ribs, much more survivable," Blake says.

The Bend La Pine School District says it spends a hundred thousand dollars a year on insurance for it's buses. But Tuesday night's accident won't cost them much. Police have cited the SUV driver for running a stop sign and making a dangerous left-turn. Therefore his insurance will cover the damage.