A Marion County elementary school bus filled with children collided into another vehicle while backing up Tuesday afternoon.
Kathryn Grist, 56, of Ocala was driving the school bus east on SW 66 Street and turned left on SW 121 Terrace, while James Salmon, 61, of Dunnellon was driving a 2000 E-150 van and approached the school bus from the rear, also intending to turn left on SW 121 Terrace, according to a Florida Highway Patrol accident report. The school bus made a left turn onto SW 121 Terrace, stopped and began to back up towards SW 66 Street, where Grist failed to see Salmon’s van behind the bus, the report stated. Salmon attempted to avoid collision by braking and swerving toward the left, but was unable to do so. His vehicle sideswiped the bus’s left rear section, causing minor damage to both vehicles.
The 39 children on the bus were uninjured. Grist and Salmon also escaped injury.
