By Eric Perry
LUNENBERG, VA (WWBT) - A dump truck driver faces charges after hitting a Kenston Forest school bus from behind Tuesday and causing it to flip over.
Four-year-old Ruthie Bacon was on the Kenston Forest School bus when a dump trunk hit it from behind causing it to spin and overturn.
“A truck hit the bus and then the bus fell over," Ruthie said. “We had to get off the bus in the back. They put the cast on because I hurt my arm.”
She now sits in the protective arms of her mom, Kim Bacon.
Bacon said she was terrified not knowing how her daughter was while she raced to the scene.
“I was just thankful that she was there and talking,” Bacon said. “Awful. I have never ran so fast to a car or gotten so fast someone. It was my worst dreams come true."
Ruthie was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken collar bone. She was riding the bus with two cousins who were 11 and 12 years old.
"There were parents holding children, crying, sirens,” Kim Bacon said.
Benjamin Lang was one of the first medics on the scene and said seeing an overturned school bus was heartbreaking.
“When the original call goes out your stomach goes into knots when you know there are kids involved,” Lang said. “There was one kid that was unconscious but did regain consciousness prior to EMS arrival.”
Wednesday, the family came together with the many volunteer first responders for lunch as a way to say thank you.
Paul Zanowski, Headmaster of Kenston Forest, said his staff is holding all the children a little closer.
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“It’s a day of prayers and hugs," Zanowski said. "We are worried about a child that Is still hospitalized.”
The bus driver, Mr. Bates, is being hailed a hero for helping many of those students off the bus. Officials say he refused treatment until all students were taken care of.
Broken glass, a destroyed sign and even candy are reminders on the scene of what happened there day before. There was also a hand-written note giving a child permission to ride home with a friend on the bus left on the ground where the crash occurred.
Ruthie will have a cast on as her bones heal, and Bacon said she will stay off the bus for the time being.
“We will be driving her to school for a little while,” Bacon said. “She is afraid to get back on the bus.”
Bacon also has a message for those driving around buses to be more careful because of who is inside.
“It’s a bus full of children,” Bacon said, "not just another vehicle.”
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