Van driver charged in school bus wreck
Published 9:36 pm Thursday, March 17, 2011
![Bus wreck](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2011/03/Bus-wreck1.jpg)
This school bus wreck on East Washington Street sent nine people to the hospital Thursday morning, including six students who were on the bus and two children in the van. The driver of the van was taken by Nightingale to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The bus driver was treated for minor injuries.
Ten people were injured in a head-on collision between a school bus and a van Thursday morning when the driver of the van allegedly fell asleep at the wheel.
Josette A. Winfield, of Corapeake, N.C., is charged with reckless driving, according to a city spokeswoman.
The accident occurred about 8:20 a.m. on East Washington Street, according to city spokeswoman Debbie George. The school bus was full of students on their way to Driver Elementary School and was traveling eastbound, while the van was traveling westbound. The van crossed the center line and slammed into the school bus near the Carver Avenue intersection.
Six students from the bus were transported to Sentara Obici Hospital. Two children from the van, a 5-year-old and a 7-month-old, were transported to Obici, as well.
Winfield, the mother of the children in the van, was taken by Nightingale air ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. She was in fair condition Thursday evening, a hospital spokeswoman reported.
Parents were called to pick up the remaining students from the accident scene. All but one child was picked up from the scene. That child was transported to school, where efforts to reach a parent continued.
Nine students also were taken to local emergency rooms by their parents. The school bus driver also was treated for minor injuries and released.
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
East Washington Street was closed for more than two hours Thursday morning, while police and rescue crews cleaned up the accident.