The Grant County Sheriff's Office has released the names of the drivers involved in Tuesday's school bus vs. dump truck crash.
They say 75-year-old Jon Cooley, of Bagley, was driving the Warco School Bus with eight River Ridge students on board. Seven of the kids were eight-years-old or younger, and one teenager. Cooley was traveling north on County Highway P from Morgan Road to Borah Ridge Road in the Patch Grove Township.
59-year-old Randy Pugh, of Viola, was westbound on County Highway P in a dump truck owned by Lepke Trucking of La Crosse. Officials say as the school bus crossed the intersection, the dump truck came over a hill and was unable to stop. The right front area of the bus collided with the left cab area of the dump truck, sending the dump truck into the north ditch where it came to a stop. The school bus spun around, entered the south ditch area, through a fence line, and came to rest in a pasture.
One child was ejected from the bus. Six kids and the bus driver were all taken to area hospitals. Injuries range from minor to severe, some remain hospitalized. Pugh was treated and released at the scene of the crash.
Assisting the Grant County Sheriff's Office were: Fennimore police, Crawford County Sheriff's Office, Bloomington Fire, Bagley First Responders, Cassville EMS, Fennimore EMS, Gunderson EMS, Lancaster EMS, Lancaster Fire, Patch Grove Fire, West Grant EMS, Grant County Emergency Government, River Ridge Schools, and Wisconsin State Patrol.
The crash remains under investigation.
For more information go to WKOW: http://www.wkow.com/story/35500470/2017/05/23/happening-now-school-bus-crash-in-grant-county-authorities-asking-residents-to-avoid-area-as-they-respond
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UPDATE (WKOW) -- A student was thrown from a school bus Tuesday, after the bus collided with a dump truck at the intersection of Borah Ridge Road and County Road P in Patch Grove Township.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office says the crash happened at 3:55 pm, Tuesday after the bus entered the intersection from Morgan Road heading northbound as a dump truck was traveling westbound.
Investigators say the dump truck hit the bus, before veering off to the north shoulder, coming to rest in a ditch.
The bus then spun around, flew through a ditch and barbed wire fence on the opposite side of the street before coming to rest in a pasture.
One student was ejected from the school bus and taken to a nearby hospital, but the extent of their injuries isn't known right now.
Of the eight children on the bus, two were picked up by parents, while one was treated on scene and released.
The remaining students and drivers were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
At least 11 emergency crews responded to the crash that remains under investigation by the Grant County Sheriff's Office, assisted by Wisconsin State Patrol.
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PATCH GROVE (WKOW) --- The Grant County Sheriff's Office is asking residents to avoid the area of County Highway P and Morgan Road because of a school bus crash.
Police, fire and EMS crews are on the way there now