Thirteen people, including eight children, were injured after two school buses collided outside a school in Ngau Chi Wan on Wednesday afternoon, with the impact sending one vehicle forward into three female school staff members.
The crash happened at about 1.26pm outside Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten, where a white school bus reportedly lost control and struck a yellow school bus that was parked in front of it.
Emergency services were called to the scene following the collision. The injured included schoolchildren, the driver of the white bus, a school bus nanny and three female members of school staff.
The injured people were taken to United Christian Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital for medical treatment.
White school bus crashes into parked vehicle
According to the information available about the incident, the white school bus was travelling near the school when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
The bus then crashed into a yellow school bus that had been parked outside the school. The force of the collision pushed the yellow bus forward.
The moving yellow bus subsequently struck three female staff members standing in the area. The three women were aged between 48 and 56.
The sequence of events meant that people in and around both school buses were caught up in the crash, while the collision also created a risk for staff members near the school entrance.
The incident occurred during the afternoon, when school related traffic and pedestrian activity can be concentrated around educational facilities. The location outside Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten meant that children, school personnel and transport staff were in the vicinity when the collision took place.
Six young girls injured on white bus
Six girls travelling on the white school bus were among those hurt in the crash.
The girls were aged between three and five, meaning they were very young children who were being transported by school bus when the collision occurred.
All six girls suffered minor injuries, according to the information available. Their injuries were treated at hospital after emergency responders attended the scene.
The 62 year old male driver of the white bus was also injured. He suffered minor injuries and was taken for medical attention.
A 51 year old school bus nanny travelling with the children was also hurt. She suffered minor injuries and was transported to hospital along with the other injured people.
The presence of a nanny on the vehicle reflects the arrangements commonly used for younger pupils travelling to and from school, particularly children of kindergarten and primary school age.
Two pupils on yellow bus also injured
The yellow school bus was occupied when the crash occurred.
Two schoolgirls travelling on the yellow bus were injured after the collision. They were among the 13 people who required medical attention following the incident.
The collision therefore involved children from both vehicles. Six girls were travelling on the white bus, while two schoolgirls were on the yellow bus.
The injuries reported in the incident were described as minor for the six girls on the white bus, the white bus driver and the nanny. The available information does not provide further details about the condition of the two girls on the yellow bus or the three female staff members beyond confirming that they were taken to hospital.
Three school staff members struck
The collision also injured three female staff members who were outside the buses.
The women, aged between 48 and 56, were struck after the impact pushed the yellow bus forward.
Their injuries added another dimension to the crash because the three staff members were not travelling in either vehicle. They were instead in the area outside the school when the yellow bus was forced forward.
The incident illustrates how a collision involving school transport vehicles can affect people beyond those inside the buses. A vehicle initially parked outside a school was pushed forward after being struck, bringing it into contact with pedestrians nearby.
All 13 injured taken to hospital
A total of 13 people were injured in the crash.
They comprised eight children, the 62 year old driver of the white school bus, the 51 year old school bus nanny and three female school staff members. Two schoolgirls on the yellow bus were also among those injured.
The injured were taken to United Christian Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital for treatment.
The hospitals are among the medical facilities serving residents in the Kowloon area, and both received people following the incident.
Information released about the crash indicates that several of those injured suffered minor injuries. No fatalities were reported in the information available about the incident.
Investigation into circumstances of crash
The circumstances surrounding the white bus losing control are expected to be examined as part of the investigation into the collision.
Key questions include what caused the driver to lose control, the speed and movement of the white bus immediately before the crash, and the circumstances in which the yellow school bus was parked outside the school.
Investigators will also need to establish the exact sequence that resulted in the yellow bus being pushed forward and striking the three female staff members.
School bus crashes can involve several factors, including road conditions, vehicle movement, visibility, driver behaviour and the positioning of other vehicles and pedestrians. Establishing the cause requires investigators to piece together evidence from the scene and accounts from those involved.
The collision took place outside Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten, making the safety of school transport and pedestrian movement around the premises a particular concern.
For families whose children rely on school buses, the incident is likely to raise questions about how vehicles are operated around school entrances and how pupils are protected while boarding, leaving or waiting near buses.
The immediate priority following the crash was medical treatment for the injured. The next step is to determine precisely why the white school bus lost control and how that led to the chain of impacts involving the second bus and the three staff members.
The incident serves as a reminder that school transport areas require careful control of vehicle movements, particularly when young children and pedestrians are present. Authorities and schools will have to establish the facts of Wednesday’s crash and determine whether any further safety measures are needed outside the Ngau Chi Wan school.