Leader Staff
Leader Photo by Gerrard Diaz Crews work to clear state Highway 29 after a fatal car/bus crash Tuesday night.
One person was killed and 14 were injured when a car collided with a school bus shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday on state Highway 29 near Pulaski.
The bus was carrying members of the Pulaski varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams back to the school from a match in Seymour.
A passenger in the car, Shannon Hall, 24, of Athens, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 27-year-old driver, a Marathon man, was taken to a Green Bay hospital with severe injuries, according to the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
Six students were transported to the hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life threatening, according to a statement from the Pulaski Community School District.
At least five additional occupants were transported by parents to hospitals after initial medical evaluation at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said.
All were released after treatment, school superintendent Milt Thompson said Wednesday.
The bus driver and coaches and other adults on the bus were not hurt.
Twenty-five people were on the bus, including 21 students, three coaches and the bus driver, a 74-year-old Green Bay man.
Authorities said the car, which was traveling westbound on Highway 29, hit the rear of the northbound bus as it was crossing the highway. Both vehicles came to rest in fields on either side of South St. Augustine Street just north of 29.
Westbound lanes of Highway 29 were closed until about 2 a.m.
Shawano County Highway Department, Brown County Highway Department and Wisconsin Department of Transportation assisted with traffic control during the incident.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Department is assisting the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department with traffic crash reconstruction. Shawano County will be reviewing the results of the reconstruction upon its completion.
Because of the accident, Thursday’s volleyball match at Manitowoc has been postponed. No new date has been set.
“The Pulaski Community School District is focused on the safety of our students,” communications coordinator Kimberly Uelman said in a statement. “Our crisis plan has been implemented and will be in effect (Wednesday) and in the following days. We will continue to support our students and their families.”
Pulaski Community School District employees are available at Pulaski High School for those affected families. Parents can call Lisa Misco, director of student services, at 920-822-6022.