Bus overturns on 101

<p>Officials at Sonoma State University were meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the crash of a school bus that injured students that had been attending a university summer school program.</p><p>The school bus carrying nine students overturned Monday afternoon on Highway 101 near Asti, skidding on its side for 200 feet before coming to rest in the middle of the freeway.</p><p>There were some minor injuries among the teen-agers and bus driver, the CHP said, and the southbound highway was blocked for more than an hour.</p><p>“They were able to get out from the front windshield, it popped out, there was no extrication,” said CHP Sgt. Steve Ramos.</p><p>The bus was operated by First Student, a national school bus company. It was taking Cloverdale students home from Sonoma State University, where they were part of Upward Bound North, a federally funded program helping high school students prepare for college, according to SSU officials.</p><p>The crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m. when the driver drifted off the side of the freeway at Asti Road, the CHP said.</p><p>The bus was northbound, but when the driver overcorrected, the bus went onto its side and slid across the median and into the southbound lanes, Ramos said.</p><p>The bus was not struck by any other vehicles as it came to rest in the middle of the southbound freeway.</p><p>Kimberly Mulcahy, a spokeswoman at First Student's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, said she did not have the identity of the driver but that he was one of the company's best drivers.</p><p>"He is one of our top drivers, he has been with us for 20-some years, a senior-level instructor, great record and history," she said.</p><p>Locally, First Student was formerly Laidlaw Transportation, which First Student's parent company, First America, purchased last October.</p><p>Mulcahy said the driver will be off duty while they investigate the cause of the crash.</p><p>The driver complained of pain, and students suffered minor injuries, described by the CHP as cuts and bruises.</p><p>They were checked out at Healdsburg District Hospital and Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa.</p><p>Mulcahy said that two of the students Monday night were still being treated, one for a possible dislocated shoulder and the second for a possible head injury, although she said the injuries were not considered serious.</p><p>The CHP said it appeared the driver was going within the speed limit when the crash occurred.</p><p>Traffic was diverted off the freeway at Dutcher Creek Road while crews worked to clear up the crash.</p><p>The CHP is also investigating the crash.</p>