Cedar Rapids school bus hits teen, who is in serious condition

CEDAR RAPIDS - A 15-year-old boy is in serious condition after he was struck by a Cedar Rapids Community School District school bus Thursday morning in southeast Cedar Rapids.

The boy is a student at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, according to the school district.

He was taken to Mercy Medical Center, police said, and later transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He was conscious at the time of the transfer, according to the school district.

Officials did not identify the bus driver or the boy.

Cedar Rapids Police said they responded at about 7:40 a.m. to Mount Vernon Road SE and 26th Street SE.

The bus, which had a large break in its front windshield, still was at the scene at 9 a.m. A blanket, that Sgt. Mike Wallerstedt said likely was used to cover the boy from the cold, still was lying in the street.

Officers began to leave and reopen all lanes of Mount Vernon Road at 9:15 a.m.

None of the students on the bus during the incident were injured, school district communications secretary Pat Szymanek said.

Those students were eventually transported safely to school. The principal of nearby Grant Wood Elementary was at the scene Thursday morning helping students transfer to another bus, Szymanek said.

Akwi Nji, district communications director, said the school bus was on its way to 'a downtown location” when it struck the student.

The driver of the school bus will be investigated by the district, according to a statement from Linda Noggle, the district's executive director of human resources.

'Any situation where there is alleged misconduct, the district ensures it is appropriately investigated,” Noggle said.

The less than a half-mile stretch of Mount Vernon Road between Forest Drive SE and Memorial Drive SE, near where the boy was hit, is a crash-prone stretch of road. There have been 77 crashes - 24 with injuries - in the past 10 years, according to data from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

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