Distressed students get back on the bus
A trip to school after a traumatic accident proves stressful
The 41 students who were aboard a school bus that plowed into a dump truck on Wednesday were "really afraid" on the ride to school from Waianae yesterday morning, a counselor said.
Some even pleaded with their parents and teachers to find them another way to get to their 10th Avenue campus.
Anuenue School Principal Charles Naumu met the bus in Waianae yesterday morning to encourage students and to allay their fears.
He then conducted a morning assembly, in which students were told what had happened in the crash and given a chance to ask questions.
Counseling sessions were held at the Hawaiian-language immersion school throughout the day for those aboard the bus, friends of victims and others who showed signs of stress.
"Those who did ride that bus were really afraid," said Anuenue School counselor Kealohamakua Wengler, adding that most of the students' parents are unable to drive them in from Leeward Oahu.
The crash happened at about 1:50 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of 9th and Waialae avenues when the Ground Transport school bus slammed into a Pacific Isles Equipment dump truck.
Witnesses said the 54-year-old driver of the bus ran a red light and was using a bus radio system when the accident happened. Seven students were taken to hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported.
The driver of the dump truck refused treatment, while the bus driver was taken to Queen's Medical Center and later released.
She is on administrative leave while the crash is being investigated, Ground Transport President Louis Gomes said.
Gomes also said the driver, who has been at the company for more than four years, was interviewed yesterday afternoon about the crash. He declined to comment on what she said.
Outside the school yesterday, parents waiting to pick up their kids said they were still in shock that the unthinkable -- an accident involving a school bus loaded with kids -- had happened.
Some said their children feared for the safety of their friends after hearing about the crash. Others said that when they heard about the bus accident, they thought it could have been on a school field trip and feared their children were on board.
"They go on field trips a lot," said Benjalyn Kalilikane, her eyes squinting with worry as she waited for her 6-year-old daughter. "I'm shocked."
Eleven-year-old Nalani Kanahele, a sixth-grader, was riding a city bus home when a friend who was on the school bus called her on a cell phone and told her about the accident. Kanahele was nearby, so she jumped off the city bus and ran to where the accident happened.
"A lot of the kids who were on the bus are her friends," said Pauline Lukela, Kanahele's grandmother.
Lukela said she picked up her granddaughter yesterday because she appeared distraught and "upset" after seeing the crash.
Anuenue School has used Ground Transport for 10 years, since the school's inception. There have been no other accidents.