School Bus Crash Injures Two Albany Women

None of the children aboard the bus were injured in the early morning crash.

Photo: Oregon State Police

(ALBANY, Ore.) - Two Albany area women were injured Tuesday morning after they crashed into each other and then struck an Albany School District school bus on Highway 34 at the intersection of Oakville Road in Linn County. No one was injured onboard the school bus.

Police say this morning at 7:15 AM, a 1998 Honda Civic driven by 23-year old Megan Alsup of Albany was westbound on Highway 34, approaching the intersection of Oakville Road.

A 1992 Maroon Honda Civic that was being operated by 17-year old Kelsey Rainwater of Albany, was stopped at the stop sign located on Oakville Road at Highway 34. The preliminary investigation has revealed that Rainwater proceeded to turn left to head eastbound on Highway 34 in the path of Alsup. Alsup struck the left side of Rainwater's vehicle with the front of her vehicle. Investigators say that after impact both vehicles collided with a 2001 Freightliner school bus belonging to the Greater Albany Public School District.

The bus was stopped on Highway 34 at the Oakville Road intersection waiting to make a left hand turn from Highway 34 onto Oakville Road when it was struck. The bus was not moving at the time of the crash.

The bus was being operated by 56-year old Robbie Marie Hood of Albany. The bus was also occupied by eleven children enroute to West Albany High School and Memorial Middle School in Albany. Neither the driver nor any of the children were injured in the crash. The Albany School District immediately sent a second bus to the scene and the children were loaded onto that bus and taken to school.

Rainwater and Alsup were transported by ambulance to the Albany General Hospital where they are being treated for non-life threatening injuries. They did not have any other passengers in their vehicles. They were both wearing saftey restraints and the airbags in both vehicles deployed during the crash.

State troopers say the eastbound lanes of Hwy 34 were closed for approximately two hours while the crash was being investigated.Traffic was routed around the crash scene by using the westbound lanes of Highway 34.

ODOT, Linn County Sheriff's Office, Corvallis P.D., Corvallis Fire and Albany Fire all assisted at the crash scene. All lanes of traffic were opened at 9:15 AM. Source: Oregon State Police