School Bus and Car Collide on Bell Street

A school bus and a Mazda CX-7 car were involved in a crash this morning at 8:18 a.m. according to police dispatch logs. The collision is sending the driver of the Mazda to the hospital with injuries. Prior to getting loaded into the ambulance, the Mazda driver and the bus driver both claimed innnocence in the cause of the crash.

There are no school children at the accident scene, so our assumption is that the bus was empty when the crash occurred.

The crash scene is at the intersection of South Bell Street and Culberson Street. Traffic is down to one southbound lane, but according to our guy on the scene, it doesn't seem to be slowing down traffic. One San Angelo driver, in a black sports car, blew past the accident at roughly 50 mph, despite officers' attempts to get the person to stop.

Update 9:37 p.m.

Officer Steve Quade explained what police determined at the scene. He said that the two school buses were driving beside each other southbound on Bell St., when one of the buses switched into the left lane in front of the other bus. The Mazda was in the outside lane going southbound.

"The school bus decided to go around another vehicle, scooted over, sideswiped [the Mazda], drove [the Mazda] into the telephone pole, then he left the scene," Quade said.

Quade said the bus was empty and that the driver of the Mazda, Johnathon Elliot, was taken to Shannon for unknown injuries.

The bus driver, identified as Chrisenthio [proper spelling not provided] Ojeda, was cited for unsafe lane change and failure to stop and leave information. "He says he didn't know it was there, didn't know he had hit," Quade said of the bus driver. "He should know something."

The bus driver went back to the school bus farm after the accident, which is where he was found. Police brought him back to the scene. The speed limit on that stretch of Bell is 40 mph. 

As cars continued to race by the scene of the crash with reckless abandon Quade said, "That's not safe." Quade suggests dropping down 20 mph below the posted speed limit in lanes next to an accident for the safety of the people working the scene and to prevent further wrecks.