First responders were at the scene of a bus crash on Mitchell Dewitt Road Thursday morning. The bus, owned by All R Friends of Westerville, was transporting four local adults with special needs when it crashed. (Photo submitted)
A Hilliard woman was cited following a bus crash in Jerome Township while she was driving four local adults with special needs.
Sydney G. Phillips, 23, of Hilliard, was issued a citation for failure to control following the incident.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call that was transferred from the Dublin Police Department at 8:56 a.m. Thursday. The caller reported an injury crash involving a transportation bus on Mitchell Dewitt Road near Waterford Way.
Officials at the scene found a 2013 Ford E-450 bus, owned by All R Friends of Westerville, on its side, partially in the roadway.
Phillips was driving three individuals from Marysville and one from Plain City.
Chief Deputy Tom Morgan said the Westerville company transports adults with special needs to work and other programming, but is unsure of the exact destination of the bus when the crash occurred.
Phillips was reportedly driving eastbound on Mitchell Dewitt Road when she drove off the right side of the road, according to a preliminary investigation. She over-corrected, crossed the center line, traveled into a ditch and turned sideways, causing the bus to roll onto its side.
“I don’t know exactly why she lost control,” Morgan said.
Emergency personnel were able to remove all four occupants from the bus with “apparent minor injuries.”
Three of the occupants, two from Marysville and one from Plain City, and the driver were transported to Dublin Methodist Hospital. The other occupant, of Marysville, was transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for “precautionary evaluation.”
According to a report from the Sheriff’s Office, alcohol is not suspected as a factor in the crash. All occupants were wearing their seat belts.
Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office and units from the Jerome Township Fire Department, Pleasant Valley Fire District and Concord Township Fire Department responded to the scene.
The crash remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.