UPDATE: We have now received the preliminary report about this accident from the Iowa State Patrol
Marcus, Iowa– Three students and one adult were taken to a hospital after a semi versus school bus crash near Marcus this morning (Oct 20, 2022).
The Iowa State Patrol reports that at about 7:35 a.m., 61-year-old James Nieuwenhuis of Hospers was driving a 2007 Mack semi northbound on F Avenue, two miles east of the north side of Marcus. They tell us that 62-year-old Leslie Pedersen of Cleghorn was westbound on 470th Street in a 2011 Bluebird School Bus owned by the Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union School District.
The report says that Nieuwenhuis failed to stop at the stop sign, and the truck entered the intersection in front of the school bus. The trooper says the bus struck the right side of the trailer and both vehicles partially entered the ditch northwest of the intersection. The report says the bus was transporting students.
The Marcus Ambulance took Pedersen to Cherokee Regional Medical Center Hospital. Three juveniles were also transported to the Cherokee hospital.
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Original story posted Oct 20, 2022, at 11:04 a.m.:
Marcus, Iowa — Three students and one adult were taken to a hospital after a semi versus school bus crash near Marcus this morning (Oct 20, 2022).
That’s according to a social media post from Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union Schools. They tell us that at about 7:35 a.m., their school bus was westbound on 470th Street, two miles east of the north side of Marcus when a semi that was northbound on F Avenue struck the bus at the intersection.
The post says that school personnel spoke to Cherokee County Sheriff Derek Scott who told them that three juveniles and one adult were transported to the Cherokee Hospital. Three other students were seen in an ambulance and not transported. School officials say every child was spoken with at least twice at the scene to make sure they had no injuries.
MMCRU officials say a school nurse and secretary have been checking over all of the students who were on the bus who are currently at school to make sure there are no lingering injuries from the bus accident.
The school also reports that ambulance teams from three communities were called to the accident scene as well as a helicopter from Sioux City according to Brian Flikheid of the Marcus Police. They say that once the extent of the injuries was known, the helicopter was called off and never landed. School officials say that because it was a bus accident, the Iowa State Patrol is conducting the accident investigation.
