The New Mexico school bus driver who was killed Monday in a school bus rollover accident was identified as 69-year-old Pat Valdez. Meanwhile, two of the nine students who were riding the bus remain in the hospital.
Officials said they still don’t know if Valdez died from a medical event, from the crash or a combination of both. He was transporting nine elementary, middle and high school students at the time. Eight students were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Six were treated and released, and two other students were taken to another hospital. Out of the eight students, two had broken bones.
The bus crashed off State Road 111 near La Madera in Carson National Forest, an area known for hiking, hunting and camping. The bus appeared to have gone off a cliff about 15 miles from the students’ school in Ojo Caliente and ended up lodged in an embankment in an area of mesas, sagebrush and rocky terrain, according to reports by the Associated Press.
The New Mexico Public Education Department’s Transportation Bureau immediately dispatched two staff members to Mesa Vista, NMPED spokeswoman Beverly Friedman told STN.
“We will continue to work collaboratively with local law enforcement, the New Mexico State Police and the local school district to investigate this accident,” she said.
For the full story, click here.
