Lancaster, CA (September 27, 2024) The community of Lancaster was saddened on Friday morning, following a school bus collision that claimed a person’s life. It happened on Columbia Way between 15th Street West and 20th Street, just after 7:00 a.m.
It was just after 7:00 a.m. in Lancaster as a school bus headed west on Avenue M with no children onboard. Right at 7:06, a Kia Sorento approached the roadway. Witnesses said the SUV “swerved into traffic” before hitting the bus, head-on. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that the accident occurred on the 1700 block of Columbia Way. The front of the bus sustained major damaged and the Kia was completely crushed in the accident. The two vehicles came to a stop in the middle of the roadway, blocking traffic. A large amount of debris littered the road between them, officers reported.
Emergency personnel arrived at the scene as quickly as they could and found the devastation. They hurried to the vehicles, ready to help anyone in need. Sadly, the woman driving the Kia did not survive the accident. She was pronounced dead at the scene by authorities. Two adults on the bus sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the collision and were transported to a hospital for treatment. Thankfully, no children were on the bus at the time of the accident.
Officers are working to determine what caused this head-on crash in Lancaster. Tow trucks arrived to remove the damaged vehicles from the roadway and crews worked to clear the road of glass and debris that had been thrown all over the roadway.
All of us at Accident News Now extend our deepest condolences to the woman killed in this accident. We also wish those injured a full and speedy recovery.
Update 9/30: The victim has been identified as Melissa Van Hoorne, 43.
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