LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Sept. 8, 2008, 1:20 p.m.)—A St. Mary's County public school bus ran off the road outside of Leonardtown just before 7:45 a.m. this morning with 24 students onboard. Three ambulances were dispatched to transport 8 students and the bus driver as priority 3 patients to St. Mary's Hospital. Initial reports are that all injuries were minor cuts with no major injuries.
According to police, St. Mary's County public school bus #651 was traveling eastbound on Medley's Neck Road approaching Whirlwind Road in Leonardtown when the bus drifted right onto the soft shoulder. Bus driver Patricia Phipps attempted bring the bus back onto the roadway and over corrected. The bus crossed the westbound travel portion of Medley's Neck Road and traveled off the road, over a culvert and into the woods.
Police requested a tow truck to remove the bus.
A second bus was dispatched to the area to transport the unharmed students to the Leonardtown High School and arrived on the scene around 8:17 a.m.