The phone call we'll never forget
>> Sunday, December 13, 2009
The phone call went something like this...
Hello parent's, this is Brenda Haffner, principal of Blythewood Middle School. I'm calling to give you an update on your child's trip. I need to let you know that there was an accident involving two of the buses returning from Camp Greenville. What we understand is that bus #3 hit the back of bus #1 then drove off the road into trees. Bus #2 was not involved. 12 student's, 2 teachers and one parent were taken to area hospitals. If you are receiving this automated call, to the best of our knowledge, your child is not in the hospital, we have personally contacted those parents. We will call you with an update as soon as we get more information.
Alyssa had left on two days earlier for this trip with the sixth grade honor students from the Middle School. It was 4:30, she was due back at 5. Now what??? We knew so little!!! They didn't mention where the accident happened... was she 20 min from home or still up in the mountains?? I called and left a message on a teachers cell phone asking her to call me and just let me know that she had seen Alyssa and knew that she was ok. Then I drove to the school hoping for some more information. At this point I didn't know which bus Alyssa was riding on. I was hopeful that it was #2. No such luck. They told me at the school that she was on #3, the one that went into the trees, but she wasn't seriously injured. They said they had taken the kids down the mountain to a Mc Donalds and would be headed home as soon as another bus arrived.
It was a long 5 hour wait!!!! We were able to talk to Alyssa (ssshh, don't tell, we weren't suppose to be able to) very briefly around 7:30 when the teacher that I called, called back to say that she was riding with Alyssa and that she was ok. What a relief, just to hear her voice!!! (Thank you, amazing teacher, for breaking the rules with the phone call:)
We will always remember the sight of the three buses pulling into the school parking lot around 10:30 that night!!! All of the parent's, school staff, teachers, administrators, and even the District Superintendent were clapping and cheering their arrival!! What a beautiful sight after hours of worry!
Alyssa told us that her bus hit the back of the bus in front of them 3 times while driving down a curvy mountain road. After the second time, the bus driver yelled, "I have no control of this bus!" She had NO brakes!!!! She knew what the mountain was like and decided to ditch the bus in that corner in the trees because the next corner had a 200 foot drop on both sides of the road! Before they hit, a teacher riding in the front yelled, "prepare for impact!" All of the kids ended up on the floor. The girl sitting next to Alyssa landed on top of her. Some of the seats broke off. Alyssa's Social Studies teacher had injuries that resulted in 50 stitches in her face and 15 staples in her head. Several children had broken bones. All of them had scrapes, and bruises. The bus driver.... well she was wearing the only seat belt on the bus so she was fine. Why oh why do they not have seat belts on buses??
The kids had to go out a window on the bus because the door was pressed into the trees. Teachers and chaperones helped them off and evaluated their injuries. Several children left in ambulances. A few of the teachers prayed with the children who were left waiting. One teacher told me later that she knew she might get in trouble, but it was worth it. She tossed aside being a teacher and became a mom and acted like the kids were all her own. She prayed with them like she'd never prayed before! Alyssa was so thankful for this. She said it really made a difference and helped to calm them down.
It was a terrible accident. I hate that the kids had to experience it. But most of all, I'm thankful. Thankful that it was only what it was. One fire fighter at the scene said that if the driver hadn't crashed the bus where she did, it would likely have been a total loss because after that corner the drop off was on both sides of the road.
So thankful for God's hand of protection on our baby girl!!!
Here is a link to the local news story...
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