Minneapolis boy, 5, injured after slipping under wheels of school bus

"The investigation shows this was purely an accident. ... We've all slipped on the ice. That's what this little boy did."

Last update: February 25, 2009 - 8:14 PM

A 5-year-old Minneapolis boy who'd gotten on the wrong school bus was seriously injured Tuesday morning after he slipped on ice and ended up under the wheels of the bus seconds after getting off it.

The kindergartner, identified by Minneapolis police as Gabriel Greiling, was listed in serious condition Wednesday night at Hennepin County Medical Center.

The boy was waiting for the Windom School bus with his mother about 6:45 a.m. at E. 32nd Street and Elliot Avenue when the accident occurred, said police spokesman Sgt. Bill Palmer.

The incident is considered an accident and the driver will not be charged, he said.

The Minneapolis School District, in a prepared statement, said the boy and his mother got on the bus, then got off when the driver told them it was going to a charter school and not to Windom.

"The driver closed the door, looked around and started to move," Palmer said. The boy apparently slipped on an icy patch and the bus rolled over him, he said.

"The investigation shows this was purely an accident -- a freak accident," Palmer said. "We're all Minnesotans, and we've all slipped on the ice. That's what this little boy did, and he went under the bus."

Pat Regan, president and owner of Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co., which owns the school bus, said his company is investigating the incident. "We're thinking of and praying for the boy," Regan said.

BOB VON STERNBERG AND HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA