School bus accident injures 15, revives seat belt talk

Robert Macy

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 9:26 a.m.

A 10-year-old girl remained in critical condition this morning from injuries suffered when a school bus and a pickup truck collided at a busy intersection.

Monday's crash injured 14 of the 52 students on board as well as the bus driver. And it revived talk of equipping school buses with seat belts.

The accident occurred on the city's west side when a bus carrying students to classes at Roger Bryan Elmentary School collided with a truck carrying welding equipment.

A young girl, found under a seat on the bus, suffered critical injuries. Her name was not released.

Assemblyman Joe Dini, D-Yerington, drafted a bill in the 1997 legislature calling for seat belts on school buses. The bill was dropped but Dini said he thinks it may be revived.

Clark County School District officials say seat belts are not needed.

Mary Stanley-Larsen, a spokeswoman for the district, said the bus had no seat belts and none were required by law.

"Studies that have been done nationally show that in a majority of cases, they would not make any difference," she said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the accident occurred at 8:30 a.m. The bus driver told police he stopped at a four-way stop, then started through the intersection. The bus driver said he was unable to avoid a collision when he saw the pickup was not stopping for the stop sign. The front end of the bus collided with the side of the pickup.

No charges were filed immediately, pending further investigation.

Police identified the driver of the bus as George Beck, 45. He suffered minor injuries.

The truck driver, Samuel Ford, 44, was not injured.

One counselor was sent to the school to assist children while another went to the hospital to be with the injured children and their parents.

Roger Bryan is one of the district's year-round schools.