UPDATE with accident report information:
Sibley, Iowa– A Sibley-Ocheyedan bus driver was flown to a Sioux Falls hospital, but none of the students in the bus he was driving were injured in a school bus accident near Sibley on Monday, November 13, 2023.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office reports that at about 4:00 p.m., 52-year-old Galen Habben of Sibley was driving a 2020 Thomas school bus southbound on Monroe Avenue or L30, a mile south of Sibley and four west. They tell us that 50-year-old Gregory Winkel of Ashton driving a 2014 John Deere farm tractor pulling a manure spreader.
The report says that the tractor was turning into 1913 Monroe Avenue. They tell us Habben’s vision was obstructed due to dust being kicked up from the tractor and the bus collided with the back of the manure spreader.
Habben received incapacitating injuries and had to be extricated from the bus. He was transported by the Sibley Ambulance to the Sibley Airport where he was then flown to Sioux Falls by Avera Careflight. Winkel did not report any injuries. Eleven students who were on the bus were evaluated by EMS and did not have any injuries.
Sibley-Ocheyedan’s Thomas school bus sustained $15,000 in damages, and Winkel’s John Deere farm tractor sustained $10,000 in damages.
The sheriff’s office tells us the Ashton Ambulance Squad and Sibley Fire Department also assisted at the scene.
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Original Story:
Sibley, Iowa — A Sibley-Ocheyedan bus driver was taken to a hospital, but none of the students in the bus were injured in an accident on Monday, November 13th.
The accident report is not available yet from law enforcement, but a statement to parents from Sibley-Ocheyedan Superintendent Stan De Zeeuw gives us some of the details.
De Zeeuw’s statement says there was an accident involving bus route number 66, also known as the “Green Frog” bus. The bus collided with a manure spreader near 1913 Monroe Avenue (which is a mile south of Sibley and four west). De Zeeuw says emergency personnel were contacted immediately and arrived on scene shortly after. He tells us the driver then contacted the High School Office to inform administration of the accident.
De Zeeuw continues, “The administrative team then contacted another bus to pick up any students that remained on the route. Eleven students were on the bus at the time of the accident. All students were checked by emergency personnel and cleared to go home. Students were transported home by parents or the secondary bus that was sent to the location. The only injuries that we are aware of at this time were those of the bus driver. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
The statement says that if anyone has any questions, they can contact De Zeeuw at the school’s central district office.
