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Latest update on Calhan school bus crash
Posted: 11.10.2010 at 9:30 PM
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CALHAN, COLO. -- People in Calhan try to get back to normal after a school bus crash rattled nerves in the small town.

The accident happened on an icy Highway 24 just west of Calhan as winter weather moved through the area.

Even though 12 people went to the hospital Tuesday night, no one was seriously hurt, and everyone is back home.

People who live in and around Calhan said they know conditions were treacherous last night.

"The road wasn't pleasant last night, but I dont know I didnt go that route, so I dont know how the roads were there," Heather Kelly, who lives in the area, said.

Others agreed.

"They were bad. They were bad. I came home at 9:30 and they were really icy," Wendy Heldenbrend, another person who lives in the area, said.

Almost everyone in the small town knew someone on the bus, but they dont blame the driver, 65-year-old Les Dawson, from Simla.

"We're a small town, nobody is mad at the bus driver," Hildenbrend said.

And neither is the Calhan school district.

"Every indication is that it was an accident, and there will be no disciplinary action from the district," Calhan School District Superintendent Linda Miller said.

The Colorado State Patrol wasn't as understanding. They cited Dawson with careless driving resulting in bodily injury.

Miller said one coach suffered a separated shoulder, and another needed stitches to close a cut on his head.

But most of the eight students and four staff taken to the hospital only suffered bumps and bruises, and all were released within hours of the crash.

"Many of the students did not come to school today, but many did," Miller said. "It just depended on the extent of the injuries." 

Miller said they put their crisis plan into action after the crash to help the students.

"They were given the opportunity if they needed to talk with an adult about any feeling they may have about what happened," Miller said.

People said the crash will not keep them from putting their kids on a school bus in the future.

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