Runaway Bus Crashes Minutes Before Kids Went On Board

by Bob Harp

LAS CRUCES — A school bus for children with special needs crashed moments before the kids went onboard.

A normal school morning was disrupted as a runaway bus crashed into a parked van.

Lucy Montoya, the driver of the bus, said the gas pedal got stuck as she was waiting in a line of buses ready for dispatch. She managed to avoid hitting other buses but ended up slamming into a parked van and eventually crashed through a chain-link fence.

Montoya said the bus still kept picking up speed after going through the fence. It crossed 17th street, went right through another fence and ended up going through a lumber yard.

After some maneuvering, Montoya managed to turn the bus in a different direction and went through a third fence, knocking down a mailbox in the process.

Once again, she crossed 17th street and headed back toward the other buses. In order to avoid the buses, she headed straight into a mobile home and knocked it off it’s foundation after crashing into it.

The bus was inspected after the incident but investigators discovered the pedal was no longer stuck. They believe the impact of the collision with the mobile home might have knocked it loose.

A spokesman for Las Cruces Public Schools said Montoya should have put the bus in neutral but managed the situation the best she could. No citations were issued against her.

The bus was a total loss.