Students from Missouri School for the Deaf Involved in Bus Accident

08/02/13

A charter bus transporting approximately 15-17 students from the Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD) in Fulton was involved in a one-vehicle accident Friday afternoon, according to school staff.

The accident occurred on I-70 in Montgomery County at the Danville exit. Several students sustained what are believed to be minor injuries and were taken to University Hospital in Columbia, Mo. A majority of the students were being treated and discharged.

At least two chaperones were on the bus with the students, in addition to the driver. Staff members from the school, including the superintendent and several interpreters, traveled to the hospital to help the deaf students communicate with hospital staff.

The ages of the students involved in the accident were not immediately known. A majority of the students were in high school with several in middle and elementary school. All the students' parents have been notified and transportation arrangements are being made.

The students were headed home after completing their extended school year. The bus was scheduled to stop at several locations in the eastern part of the state where parents were meeting their children. Stops included St. Charles, St. Louis, Arnold, Sikeston and Cape Girardeau.

The Missouri School for the Deaf is operated by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Many students reside at the school when classes are in session, while others attend as day students. Approximately 70 to 75 students enroll at the school each year.