Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
State officials are urging Bonduel School District administrators to step up school bus maintenance after two wheels fell off a bus that was carrying students on a state highway.
An inspector for the Wisconsin State Patrol found that school district employees did not properly fasten or maintain lug nuts designed to hold the school bus wheels in place.
The bus was carrying about 35 students Oct. 27 when two wheels fell off the rear driver’s side about 7:30 a.m. while the bus was in traffic on state Highway 47 with a 55 mph speed limit.
Although the bus driver was able to maneuver the disabled vehicle safely to the shoulder of the road, some students later reported injuries that school district officials described as minor.
In a report released Wednesday, the state inspector found other loose lug nuts elsewhere on the bus, concluding that the vehicle had been improperly or inadequately serviced by school district employees.
“In this incident, human error, lack of resources and/or training may have contributed to the mechanical failure on the bus,” the inspector wrote. “The Bonduel School District will have to look at ways to improve the inspection process on their buses and to have properly trained staff service the buses.”
The public school district maintains its own fleet of 15 buses to transport students along nine routes.
School District Administrator Patrick Rau declined to comment on the bus incident Wednesday, saying that the district’s own investigation has been turned over to its insurance company.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Rau stated in an email, “and no comments can be made regarding the cause or the personnel and students involved.”
Officials have not identified the bus driver or any other employees involved, nor have they indicated how many students were injured or the nature of their injuries. Initial reports were that nobody was hurt in the incident, but officials later said a couple of students were complaining of headaches or bruises.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the incident to gather information about the injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies originally assisted at the scene of what appeared to be only a disabled vehicle incident. Once students later reported that they had suffered injuries, the sheriff’s department was required to prepare an accident report.
Chief Deputy George Lenzner said there does not appear to be any criminal negligence involved in the incident.
“It came down to human error,” Lenzner said.
The state police got involved because the state Department of Transportation oversees school bus safety and inspects buses regularly.
The inspector’s report indicates that maintenance of the Bonduel bus might have lapsed because of staffing issues in the school district’s transportation department. A newly hired director of transportation resigned recently after only a few months on the job.
The inspector also reported consulting with district employees on safety precautions “to prevent another incident like this from happening.”
Lt. Rich Reichenberger of the state police said the inspector could have issued citations to Bonduel school employees for allegedly violating state school bus safety rules. No citations were issued, however, because the inspector felt that was not warranted.
“I guess it’s a case-by-case thing,” Reichenberger said.