This is a photo of the Marysville Exempted Village School District bus that was involved in an accident Friday afternoon. The bus, which was returning to Marysville from Mansfield after a high school field trip, was struck in the rear by a tractor-trailer on I-71S near Mansfield. Several injuries to passengers and the bus driver were reported. None of the injuries were deemed life-threatening.
(Photo submitted)
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A crash on I-71 south near Mansfield early Friday afternoon between a tractor-trailer rig and a Marysville Exempted Village School District bus left 11 students and the bus driver injured.
None of the injuries were deemed as life-threatening, according to reports from the Mansfield News Journal and a press release from the Marysville Schools.
The students were part of a senior English class called “Frame by Frame” at Marysville High School.
They had read the book “The Shawshank Redemption” in class and went to visit the Mansfield prison because the movie by the same name was filmed there.
According to information received by the Journal-Tribune, the students, who were accompanied by two other adults, including high school assistant principal Scott Stackhouse, had eaten lunch after visiting the prison.
They were on their way back to Marysville when the accident occurred at approximately 1:20 p.m.
According to reports, the school bus, driven by James Lemaster, 64, of Marysville was struck in the rear by a tractor-trailer driven by Jean Braeckel, 55, of Ontario, Canada.
Braeckel was cited for failure to maintain assured clear distance ahead by the Ohio Highway Patrol, it was reported.
Lemaster and eight Marysville High School students were taken to a Mansfield-area hospital for treatment.
Melanie Batdorf, a senior at Marysville High School, said, “I’m still processing what happened because I never thought something like this would happen to me.
“It sounded like an explosion when we were first hit and I’m glad the bus driver was able to pull over safely and no one that I know of was seriously injured.”
“Honestly, it felt like something exploded,” Stackhouse told reporters on the scene of the moment of impact. “The driver did a fantastic job.”
He said no one screamed at impact and it was noticeably quiet.
The impact was reportedly substantial and sent the bus fish-tailing.
According to reports, Lemaster was able to maintain the vehicle and pull it over to a stop.