Four children injured, one seriously when Lee County school bus crashes

SANFORD, NC — The driver of a school bus carrying students to a Lee County charter school was charged with failure to maintain lane control on Thursday morning.

Four children were injured, one seriously when the bus overturned in a ditch on Lemon Springs Road near St. Andrews Church Road in Sanford. There were 13 students on the bus, en route to MINA charter school, at the time of the crash around 7:30 am

One student was taken to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, while the other three were being treated for aches and pains at Central Carolina Hospital.

The aunt of two students who were hurt told WRAL News the children would be okay. She said some of the children fell on top of others when the bus overturned.

The State Highway Patrol said the bus slid veered off the two-lane road and into a ditch. It was raining at the time, but officials did not believe rain was a major factor in the crash.

A tow truck used chains to remove the school bus from the road, which reopened by 11 am

A spokesperson from Lee County Schools said the bus was from MINA charter school, which has no affiliation with LCS.

Dr. Shawn Williams, lead administrator of MINA, said, “The school is aware and addressing the issues and we will conduct a thorough investigation and we are not aware of any serious injuries and will continually monitor the situation. Safety of all of our scholars and staff are our number one concern.”