A school bus in Washington ended up on its side after a violent crash involving an allegedly stolen car. The resulting crash practically crushed the car while ejecting the front axle from the bus.
On Monday morning in Spokane Valley, an IC Bus CE Series school bus operated by the East Valley School District finished its route, reports KREM 2. The driver was returning the bus back to the depot when a BMW collided with it near the intersection of N Kenney Road and E Wellesley Avenue.
The crash caused the bus to roll onto its side plowing into the yard of a residence. Thankfully, there were no students inside.
The driver of the bus was able to escape through either one of the top hatches or the rear emergency door. Witnesses report seeing the bus driver appearing to be in ok shape before being taken to the hospital for an evaluation, reports KHQ. The BMW is believed to be a stolen vehicle and its driver fled the scene.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to the scene and...just check out the carnage. That bold red engine in there is likely a Cummins ISB 6.7, a turbodiesel good for up to 300 hp and 660 lb-ft torque in a school bus application.
That underbody shot is perhaps even more illustrative of how hard the crash was. The frame is bent and the front axle is just sitting there in the grass, one tire off of its wheel.
Here’s what the bus would normally look like.
A school bus of this size could have a GVWR of around 30,000 pounds with an empty weight close to 20,000 pounds.
And here’s the BMW, which appears to be an E90 3 Series.
A solid chunk of the car is missing and the damage is so bad that the roof is too deformed for the sunroof glass to make a seal. Witnesses say that the BMW hit the bus speeding in from the cross street, which explains why the driver side of the vehicle is relatively unscathed.
One thing is for sure, you don’t want to be involved in a crash with a large commercial vehicle. The story is developing as police have yet to find the driver of the BMW. The road was closed for several hours while authorities investigated.
Update: The driver has been found and arrested. Witnesses say that they blew the stop sign, causing the crash. The driver was already facing charges for having a stolen car before and now faces new charges for possession of a stolen vehicle, burglary, hit and run, reckless driving and driving while suspended. Thanks kind reader!