School Bus Crashes Into Montgomery County Home

A school bus crashed into a Blue Bell home, but none of the nine children on board were injured, Whitpain Township Police announced.

The home suffered significant damage when a Wissahickon School Bus, driven by a First Student bus driver, came barreling into it at roughly 7:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.

All nine children, students at St. Helena Elementary School, safely jumped out of the emergency door.

Isabel Llopias, 11, helped lead her fellow students off the bus by opening the rear door, according to NBC 10.

“It feels good because I know that I helped some people,” Llopias told NBC 10.

The sixth grader said the bus training safety classes she took in school kicked in after she experienced the initial shock. She helped her fellow students, who ranged from kindergarten to 8th grade, off the bus, according to the report.

The 58-year-old male bus driver was taken to Abington Hospital, police said.

The driver may have had a medical issue before the incident, ABC station WPVI reported.

The extent of his injuries wasn’t immediately clear, according to a fire official.

Students on the bus said the driver began hyperventilating and hit the gas right before the crash, according to WPVI.

Neighbors said he had no recollection of the crash and wanted to know if the children were safe.

Neighbor Adam Glazer said he saw the bus accelerating up the winding street, and the bus swerved and knocked out a street sign before crashing, according to the report.

Four people inside the home were unhurt, according to the report.

Jill Lafferty was home with her husband and one of her daughters at the time of the crash, and said they were in the front room five seconds before the bus came crashing through, according to WPVI.

She said she and her daughter were knocked to the floor by the force of the impact.

The bus remained on the suburban Philadelphia home’s front lawn for about five hours as police investigated, according to Business Insider.

“It’s shocking, very shocking,” said neighbor Joseph Smalley, according to Business Insider. “The kids, thank God, were OK.”