South Dakota Teen Bicyclist Dead After School Bus Crash

April 15, 2024

The collision of a Brookings School District school bus and a teen bicyclist in South Dakota left the 16-year-old girl dead at the scene.

On Friday morning, according to a statement released by the district, one of its buses was attempting to make a right hand turn onto Main Street when a bicyclist traveling north on Main Street attempted to cross at the intersection. The school bus reportedly began turning at the same time the 16-year-old female bicyclist began crossing the street, resulting in a collision that ultimately killed her.

The school district confirmed that no students were on board the bus at the time of the incident, which occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. According to a statement released by the Brookings Police, the bus was driven by 46-year-old Tami Varpness. She had just completed her morning route and was returning to the district bus garage, when the incident occurred.

The 16-year-old bicyclist, who was not identified in this writing and was not a student of Brookings School District, was pronounced dead at the scene. Local police, Brookings County Sheriff’s deputies, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, EMTs, and the Brookings Fire Department all responded a 911 call.

According to local news reports, police taped off the scene and the South Dakota Highway Patrol was on the scene to reconstruct the accident. The investigation is ongoing, and police said they will be reviewing video, eyewitness accounts, and the crash reconstruction results.