Bend HS Nordic team bus in Mt. Hood crash; no injuries
A school bus carrying the Bend High Nordic ski team back from a competition on Mt. Hood was involved in a crash when it slid on a patch of black ice as it tried to stop for a traffic backup on state Highway 35 Saturday afternoon, Oregon State Police said. The bus hit at least two other vehicles before coming to a stop, then was struck by a semi-truck that slid into it, troopers said.
No injuries were reported in the crash, which occurred around 3:30 p.m., said OSP Captain Bill Fugate. There were 43 students and two adults on the bus, he added.
Fugate said the school bus slid on black ice and the driver went into the oncoming lane, to avoid hitting the backed-up traffic. The bus struck at least two other vehicles at slow speed.
“After it came to rest, a semi-truck driver tried to drive around and slid into the bus,” he added.
OSP notes indicated the other vehicles involved were a Subaru Impreza and a Dodge Durango. The crash closed all lanes of the highway for a time and took about two hours to fully clear.
All of the Bend High students and adults were taken by a Mount Hood Meadows resort bus to the resort’s main lodge to wait for another bus to take them home, said school district spokeswoman Julianne Repman.
Parents were kept updated by their students and school staff, Repman said, adding that students were asked to check in with their parents again when they arrived at the lodge.
A skier on the bus, Soren Nyquist, said their bus “did a complete 180, hitting the snow bank twice” before coming to a stop. He said the students and staff were returning home on a school bus being sent from Hood River.
