A school bus crash southwest of Random Lake on Monday morning resulted in injuries to at least 11 persons in all, eight of those being students riding the bus.
Ozaukee County Sheriff Christy Knowles said that her deputies responded at about 7:23 a.m. to a two-vehicle crash on County Highway “E” and Jay Road, about three miles southwest of Random Lake. Responding deputies found a 2018 black Jeep Grand Cherokee with significant front-end damage in the roadway, and a 2021 school bus from the Random Lake School District (Bus 17 according to early social media reports) on its passenger side in the west ditch on CTH “E”.
Drone Imagery – Courtesy of the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office – Of a Bus Crash Monday Morning
Initial investigation shows that the Jeep was traveling eastbound on Jay Road, failed to stop at the signed intersection with “E” and struck the bus in the center of the driver’s side, spinning it 180 degrees and overturning it onto its passenger side in the west ditch, facing south.
Of the 36 students on the bus, ranging from elementary through high school age, eight were injured and transported by ambulance to local hospitals, as well as Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Their injuries ranged from minor to serious, but none of them were considered life-threatening. Students who were not injured were picked up by their parents at the scene of the crash, however some of those were later brought to local hospitals by their parents out of precaution.
The driver of the Cherokee, 32-year-old Becka Stevenson of West Bend, was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries. She was cited by the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office for Failure to Yield from the stop sign, and additional charges could result from the ongoing investigation. A passenger in her Jeep, 33-year-old Luis Vargas of Random Lake, was also treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
The bus driver, 53-year-old Mark Hall of West Bend – an employee of the Random Lake District – suffered minor injuries which were treated at a local hospital.
Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department divisions were joined by 18 additional agencies from surrounding Ozaukee, Washington and Sheboygan Counties; Flight for Life was contacted but cancelled by on-site medical staff.
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