By Barbara Brown

A fourth grade field trip Thursday was not deterred by a minor school bus accident at Interstate Park.

One fourth grade class took the trip to the park for a hiking and nature adventure.

The morning trip to the Wisconsin side of the park went smoothly, but after the bus left the Wisconsin side and entered the parking lot on the Minnesota side, things started to get a little rough.

As the bus was trying to turn around in the Minnesota parking lot, the bus drove over an 18-inch tall brick wall in the middle of the lot, said Main Street School principal Sara Svir at Thursday nightís school board work session.

Svir said the driver tried to back off the wall and got more hooked up on it. When the driver tried to drive forward to dislodge the bus, the bus rocked from side to side and several students fell out of their seats.
All the students were evacuated from the bus and were asked by the teacher and chaperones if they were hurt.

At that time, 11 of the 28 students on the trip complained of bumping their heads or elbows. No one was cut or bleeding from the accident, Svir said.

The teacher called emergency services and the group waited for a while for them to arrive, Svir told the board.

She said the teacher and chaperones ñ parents of 5 of the children on the trip ñ asked if they wanted to hike. All agreed and headed off to the park.

After they returned from the hike, the emergency crews still had not arrived, Svir said, so the class ate lunch.

After emergency services arrived from as far away as Osceola, the crews said they were required to take all the students to the hospital for check-ups unless their parents or principal signed waivers saying they did not have to go.

Because only five of the parents were on the bus, 23 students were taken in five ambulances to St. Croix Hospital where they were checked out and cleared. After their check-ups, the students were given pop and a snack and watched 101 Dalmations while they waited for their parents to arrive.

ìIt wasnít the day that was planned, thatís for sure,î Svir said.

Parents will be billed by the ambulance companies for the services and Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak said the parents have to work with their own insurance companies on the bills.

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