A Richfield seventh-grader was struck by a small school bus Monday morning while crossing a busy street and suffered broken bones, the School District superintendent said.
The girl got off her bus about 8 a.m. at Richfield Middle School and was hit by another bus as she crossed Penn Avenue S. near 75th Street on her way to a nearby facility for at-risk and special-education students, said Superintendent Robert Slotterback.
The driver was placed on paid leave as authorities investigate the incident, said manager Renee Lehman, whose Adam Services Inc. of St. Louis Park operates the bus. Alcohol has been ruled out as a factor, Lehman said.
The driver has been with the company for five years and has had no violations, said Lehman. A background check when he was hired was clean, she said.
"The driver is very distraught over this," Lehman said, adding that the bus is mechanically sound.
Lehman said the girl was in the crosswalk on Penn when the bus turned left onto northbound Penn and struck the girl. A traffic light at Penn and 75th was in his favor, she said, adding that it's not clear why he didn't see the girl in time.
The girl was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with leg and pelvis fractures, Slotterback said.
"She's going into surgery," he said early Monday afternoon. Middle School Principal Stephen West was at the hospital and spoke with the girl and her parents. Lehman said she also visited the girl at the hospital.
