Around 7 a.m. Friday morning, Georgia State Patrol and local public safety officials responded to a wreck on GA 365 involving a Habersham County school bus.
According to the GSP’s investigation, a white Ford Econovan driven by George McDonell, 42, of Loganville, was driving northbound on GA-365 when he rear-ended the bus. The wreck occurred at the Duncan Bridge Road intersection in Baldwin. McDonell told GSP he was looking out the window and did not see that a school bus had stopped at the light.
The bus was full of middle and high school students. According to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, it was headed to Level Grove Elementary School for the students to transfer onto other buses.
“Our transportation department leaders did an excellent job of responding to the scene and of caring for our driver and students,” says Habersham County Schools Superintendent Matthew Cooper. “We also had middle and high school principals respond to the scene to care for those students who were on the bus.”
There were no major injuries responded to, but GSP says one student did complain of minor injuries. Cooper says that following the incident, parents were contacted and their students were transported to their schools via another bus.
“Incidents like this underscore the importance of drivers using extreme caution when they are on our roadways and in our school zones,” Cooper said. “Everyone should be aware that they are sharing our Habersham roadways with school buses and with many student drivers.”
An HCSO K-9 officer who happened to be passing by the wreck stopped to help, says sheriff’s spokesperson Kevin Angell. E-911 dispatched other deputies to the scene because none of the Baldwin police units were available, he says.
Habersham County Emergency Services and Baldwin Fire Department personnel also responded to the scene.
Officials say there were no obvious indications of driver impairment. Troopers cited McDonnell for following too closely.
This article has been updated.
