Richmond boy recovering after collision with bus

RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) – An 8-year-old Richmond boy is recovering in the hospital after colliding with a school bus Tuesday afternoon.

The crash happened near the intersection of Northwest I Street and Ridge Street.

Todd Terrill, the superintendent of Richmond Community Schools, says the boy was riding his bike in an alley near the intersection with his sister. But says when he got to the street he couldn’t stop and ran into the bus.

The crash sent neighbors running.

“I was sitting out on my porch and I heard a screech of a bus, and I walked around the corner and looked down the street and I saw a small child on the ground under the bus,” said Charles Thomas, who lives nearby.

The boy is only being identified as a 2nd grader at Fairview Elementary School. He broke his tibia and fibula and got stitches in his head.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen something like that happen,” Thomas said.

No one else was injured in the crash.

“The driver saw him and tried to get out of the way and you could tell from the angle of the bus that he tried to avoid the situation,” Terrill said.

State police investigated the crash. Terrill says the bus driver was cleared, and the bus was functioning properly.

“The bus had been inspected in February and there were no issues. And he (the ISP investigator) found that same thing to be true in his report that there were no concerns on issues with the bus,” Terrill added.

The school district is now partnering with the Richmond Police Department on a helmet drive and bike safety event.

“Two weeks ago it was still 40 degrees and there wasn’t a lot of people out. This week with it being 70 and 80 degrees. There’s people everywhere now, and it’s that time of the year, so we just want to be proactive,” said Terrill.