Truck Hits Bus, No Kids Hurt
By Doug Mattson - Wednesday, June 21, 2000
George Cooper, driver of a Durham Transportation bus, talks to an unidentified man about a wreck involving two vehicles and the bus on Highway 49 near Old Auburn Road Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John Hart)
A bus load of schoolchildren escaped major injuries after being in a three-vehicle crash on Highway 49 in Alta Sierra, which seriously injured one motorist and caused a two-hour delay Tuesday.
At about 3:45 p.m., a Durham Transportation bus carrying 27 people - including 24 Cottage Hill School students - was struck while heading southbound by a northbound Toyota T-100 pickup, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The pickup's driver, Jimmy Mullins, 38, of Grass Valley, apparently fell asleep and drifted into the southbound lane. He first struck a southbound Ford Contour and a guard rail before striking the bus, said CHP Officer Rod Rocha.
Mullins went by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with a broken right leg and facial lacerations. A supervising nurse said he was in serious condition Tuesday night.
The Ford's driver, Phillip Cain, 39, of El Dorado, went by ambulance to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, Rocha said. A supervising nurse said he was treated and released.
CHP Officer Chuck Dunbar said some of the 24 schoolkids onboard suffered cuts and bruises, while Rocha said they were "mostly shaken."
Dunbar said the children were in a 4-H group that was returning from a swimming trip to Memorial Park in Grass Valley. The other four passengers were the bus driver, George Cooper, 75, of Grass Valley, and three other adults, according to the CHP.
The crash spread debris across both lanes of traffic and caused a two-hour delay.
Rocha said there was no sign that alcohol was a factor in the crash.
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