ASHLAND CITY, TN (WSMV) -
Twelve children were transported to a nearby hospital, along with their school bus driver, after a car collided into a Cheatham County bus Thursday afternoon.
The wreck was reported at 3:14 p.m. along Highway 12 at Simpkins Drive near West Cheatham Elementary, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
"It was scary. It was really scary," said student Mackenzie Mantlo.
THP said 30 students between elementary and high school age were on the bus, which had just stopped to let passengers exit, when a 2008 Toyota SUV ran into the right rear of the bus.
"I was talking to my friend and looked back, and it was all there all at once," Mantlo said. "We all went forward. One of my friends was crying, and I had to help her get on the ambulance."
Nearby Centennial Medical Center was ready for the rush of patients. Fortunately, chief nursing officer Darrell White said the children's injuries were not severe.
"Sprains, strains, bruises, bumps - there were no lacerations, no fractures. So these children were very fortunate," White said.
Mantlo was treated at the hospital and is going to be okay. When asked if she would be riding the bus again, she said they have the best driver and she has no worries.
The SUV driver, Eneyda P. Moran, 39, of Ashland City, was not injured, THP said.
Charges against Moran are pending.
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An injured student is helped off a Cheatham County school bus. (Photo by: Tim Adkins/Ashland City Times)
