Three hospitalized, including two children, following collision between school bus and city truck in Connecticut.

Two children and a public works employee were hospitalized Monday afternoon following a collision involving a school bus and a municipal truck in North Branford, Connecticut. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. at the intersection of Forest Road and Mill Road, approximately ten miles east of New Haven.

According to local police, the Branford Board of Education school bus was traveling south when it collided with a Town of North Branford Department of Public Works truck. The truck, which was stopped at a stop sign, attempted to make a right turn to head north when the collision occurred. There were two children on board the school bus at the time of the accident, both of whom were subsequently transported to a local hospital for observation.

The driver of the Department of Public Works truck also sustained minor injuries and was treated at a hospital. Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, which preliminary reports have classified as an accident.

This collision follows a troubling trend of school-related incidents in the state. In November 2024, eight students were injured in a separate school bus crash in Manchester, Connecticut. Investigations revealed that distracted driving was likely the cause of that incident. Dr. Joseph Macary, the superintendent of Vernon Public Schools, has emphasized the growing concerns surrounding vehicle safety, noting that distracted driving appears to be a major contributing factor to such accidents.

In addition to the recent accidents, last October, a crash in Hartford injured four students when a school bus was involved. These incidents raise significant concerns about the safety of school transportation systems and the rising frequency of vehicle collisions involving school buses.

National statistics paint a grim picture regarding school bus safety; in 2023, 128 fatalities related to school bus accidents were reported across the United States, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. From 2014 to 2023, approximately 71% of the reported deaths in these incidents were occupants of other vehicles. Meanwhile, school bus passengers accounted for 34% of injuries, while 9% were school bus drivers, and 52% were occupants of other vehicles. Pedestrians, cyclists, and other unidentified individuals made up the remaining percentage of victims.

The ongoing investigation into the North Branford crash will be crucial in understanding the factors that led to this recent incident, as authorities aim to improve safety measures for school transportation across the region.