By Maggie Trovato, Racquel Bazos
Baltimore Sun
PARKVILLE, Md. — Multiple people were taken to area hospitals after a school bus carrying students from the Maryland School for the Blind crashed into a building in Parkville on Tuesday afternoon, prompting emergency crews to declare a mass casualty incident — the second this month involving a bus crash in Baltimore County.
On July 8, a Maryland Transit Administration bus left the road and smashed into a FedEx building on Reisterstown Road in Parkville. A total of 36 people were injured in that incident, which remains under investigation.
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Tuesday’s crash happened shortly after 2:40 p.m. at the intersection of Harford Road and Lavender Avenue. Baltimore County Fire Bureau Chief Travis Francis said the bus was carrying three students and two adults.
“One of those students, as well as one of the adults, the driver of the bus, was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries at this time, as well as one additional adult from the scene that was transported with minor injuries,” Francis said.
Officials said all reported injuries were minor. The mass-casualty event was called per standard protocol. It happens in any emergency when the number of injured patients temporarily overwhelms medical units and additional resources are needed.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Baltimore County Police.
“We’re just happy that no more folks are injured,” Francis said. “The injuries are minor, and we want to get some calmness back to the neighborhood soon.”
The bus slammed into a commercial building, one labeled as Northern Special Care Pharmacy on the sign out front, along Harford Road. No employees or others inside the building at the time of the crash were injured, fire officials said.
The property is owned and operated by MedStar, whose representatives directed The Sun to fire and police officials when reached for comment.
Francis said the structure has not been condemned, but a structural engineer will inspect it after the bus is removed to determine whether it is safe.
Among those who rushed to the scene was Carrie Crawford, a teacher at the Maryland School for the Blind who lives nearby. She said one of her students, a nonverbal girl who uses a wheelchair, had been riding on the bus.
“I was scared to death,” Crawford said.
When Crawford arrived, she found the student with her father.
“I went right up to her,” Crawford said. “She was smiling.”
Next door to the pharmacy, the staff at Enchanted Cakes and Treats heard a series of booms, owner Carrie Shelley said. Half the merchandise on the walls shook and fell, she added.
“There were so many people within minutes,” Shelley said. “Pretty much everybody from all of the buildings came running out.” Bystanders, including Shelley, opened the door to the school bus. The first student to exit was “frantic,” she said.
Shelley said the section of Harford Road her business sits on is particularly prone to collisions, primarily from people making U-turns.
The bus belonged to Baltimore County Public Schools. The Sun reached out, asking for information about the driver and how long he had been working this route. A school district spokesperson said they didn’t have any information about the driver to share.
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