Bus crash update: No students injured, superintendent says

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A Dietrich Bus Service bus was involved in a crash with an SUV Monday afternoon four miles south of Mitchell.

The accident occurred between 4 and 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of state Highway 37 and 259th Street.

A Highway Patrol trooper who was investigating the crash could not be reached immediately Monday evening. Mitchell Superintendent Joe Graves said the bus was carrying only two students and neither was injured. The school district has a contract with Dietrich for bus service.

At the scene, one person was seen being wheeled away on a stretcher and another was receiving attention from emergency responders. Though it appeared both people had been in the SUV, that could not be verified without information from the trooper.

Emergency personnel took two people to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital after the accident, Graves said. Details were not immediately available on their condition. He said the two students were picked up at the accident scene by family members.

“We know at this time that the accident happened at the end of Bus Route No. 1 and that there was just one male and one female student on the bus when a passenger vehicle collided with the bus,” Graves said. “No students were hurt and the bus driver was not hurt.”

Following official protocol, Dietrich bus driver Einar Petersen was taken for blood testing. Graves said the tests were strictly procedural in nature and Petersen is not suspected of wrongdoing.

Monday was the first day of school in the Mitchell School District.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve even had a whisper of an accident,” Graves said.

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