NEW: Indiana State Police have released new information into the crash this morning between a school bus and SUV.
Here is that updated info:
St. Joseph County-An early morning crash between a Union-North United School Corporation school bus, with twenty students onboard, and an SUV sent five to the hospital with minor injuries.
A preliminary investigation by Trooper Jon Price indicates around 7:51 a.m., a school bus driven by Laura Watts, 31, of Lakeville, was eastbound on Pierce Road. Watts stopped and picked up students at a bus stop in front of 20884 Pierce Road. As Watts accelerated the bus from the stop, it was struck from behind by a Ford Expedition driven by Lee Motz, 28, of Bourbon, IN.
Four students were transported from the scene with complaints of pain; two nine-year-old boys, a five-year-old girl, and a fifteen-year-old girl. All were treated for minor injuries and released from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth, IN.
Motz was transported to Memorial Hospital in South Bend for injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
Pierce Road remained closed between Michigan Road and Kenilworth until approximately 11:00 a.m. for the crash investigation and removal of the vehicles.
Alcohol or drugs is not suspected as a factor in this crash. This crash remains under investigation.
The Indiana State Police was assisted by the St. Joseph County Police Department, North Liberty Police Department, and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department.
ORIGINAL POST:
BREAKING NEWS: Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner reporting a crash this morning between a school bus and SUV.
It has occurred in St. Joseph County in the 20,000 block of Pierce Road.