GREENVILLE (greenvilleonline.com) -- A dozen people, some with special needs, have been transported to the hospital after two school buses were involved in wrecks in Greenville County this morning, and the state Highway Patrol is awaiting word from the coroner's office on the condition of one accident victim.
A bus driver and student aboard a school bus on State Park Road were taken to the hospital as a precaution after the bus was hit head-on at about 6:40 a.m., said Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles.
The driver of a Dodge Neon was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital with what Hiles called a "very low trauma score." He was travelling south on State Park Road near Piney Mountain Road when the Neon went off the left shoulder, overcorrected and ran head-on into the front of the school bus, Hiles said.
He was wearing a seatbelt, was extricated from the car and taken to the hospital, Hiles said.
The Paris Elementary School bus had just started its route when it was involved in the crash, said Oby Lyles, school district spokesman.
A second accident on Neely Ferry Road in Simpsonville at about 7:24 a.m. caused minor injuries while eight elementary school students and a bus driver were transported to the hospital, none with significant injuries, Hiles said.
That bus was carrying special needs students who were taken to the hospital as a precaution, Lyles said.
Lyles said the school district wanted to take extra precaution "because a lot of these students could not fully communicate what issues might be, so we're going to fully transport them."
A Ford Expedition driven by a 16-year old female pulled out in front of the bus at Hawthorne Drive, Hiles said. The Expedition's driver was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, Hiles said.