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WRAL.com
Robeson Student Killed When Tractor-Trailer Hits Stopped School Bus
Child's Mother, More Than Dozen Others Injured
POSTED: 7:58 a.m. EST January 13, 2004
UPDATED: 12:48 p.m. EST January 13, 2004
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. -- A 5-year-old girl was killed and more than a dozen others, including her mother, were injured in a collision involving a stopped school bus and a tractor-trailer near the Robeson/Scotland County line Tuesday morning.
The Highway Patrol said the school bus was stopped and in the process of loading children when a tractor-trailer transporting chickens failed to stop and struck the school bus from behind.
According to the state Highway Patrol, the collision happened on N.C. 71 north of Maxton near Bryant Circle at 7:04 a.m.
The Highway Patrol said the school bus was stopped and in the process of loading children when a tractor-trailer transporting chickens failed to stop and struck the school bus from behind.
According to Robeson County Schools, Sheila Hernandez, 5, was struck and killed as she was waiting to be helped onto the bus by her mother. The girl's mother, Maria, was also struck and is reportedly listed in critical condition.
"I saw her in the middle of the road. She was lying there and they had her covered up. Her mother was in the ditch from here the big truck hit her," said Erica Hernandez, the victim's aunt.
Hernandez said Maria attempted to shield her daughter.
"She walked her daughter to the bus and when her daughter got to the bus she turned around and looked and tried to get in front of her daughter so the truck wouldn't hit her," she said.
The bus was transporting children to Townsend Middle School and R.B. Dean Elementary School. The Highway Patrol said 17 children were on the bus at the time of the collision.
Officials said the force of the impact drove the bus 606 feet and across the county line. Charges are pending against the tractor-trailer driver.
The injured, including the drivers, were transported to local hospitals.
Seven people were taken to Scotland Memorial Hospital in Laurinburg. Two of those people were later airlifted to Duke Medical Center in Durham. Five others are listed in guarded condition.
Seven others were trasnported to Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton for treatment of minor injuries; none were expected to be admitted.
Officials said the force of the impact drove the bus 606 feet and across the county line. Authorities said the stopped bus was in Robeson County at the time of the collision and ended in Scotland County.
The Highway Patrol said Gary K. Garnett, 38, of Hope Mills, was driving the tractor-trailer registered to Mountaire Farms Inc. of Selbyville, DE. Charges against Garnett are pending.
Federal investigators from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are at the collision scene assisting Robeson County troopers with their investigation.
Watch WRAL's Noon News live online for the latest on this story. (Newscasts air without commercials. A black screen appears during breaks.)
Copyright 2004 by WRAL.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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