There are new details on what caused a bus full of kids, coming home from a field trip in Newport, to crash through a guardrail on Route 4 and into a cluster of trees in East Greenwich.
It turns out, a 17 year old driver rammed into the bus. He is not facing any criminal charges, but is being cited for making an unsafe lane change. If found guilty, he'll have to pay 85 dollars.
One man who helped the kids out of the bus, described the crash as absolutely devastating. He was just a few cars behind, so the mental health professional pulled over and jumped into action, trying to help these 26 kids.
A bus full 32 people, including kids from the Jewish Community Day School in Providence were found in a ditch Monday by Zachary Gerber and a few others, who jumped in to get them out of there.
"When they came out you could see the bruises and some of them bleeding and we tried to triage them," said Gerber, "Not myself but others who had first aid experience."
Thanks to Gerber and a of couple nurses heading to work, the kids got out of the bus safely. Most of them had minor injuries like bumps, bruises and black eyes. Still, it's not what these six to eleven year olds wanted to come home with after a fun filled trip to Bowen's Warf in Newport. Now, it's a day they'll probably remember forever.
"It's trauma for them and this is probably something they're going to live with for the rest of their lives," said Gerber. He feels he was meant to be there Monday afternoon. He works in the mental health field, so he was able to help.
"It's interesting how things work out with situations," said Gerber, "I'm glad I was there to help talk. I let them use my cell phone if they wanted to call their parents."
Thankfully, all the kids are okay. But the driver of that bus, who flew through the windshield, is still in intensive care. Robert Blue's wife tells us he has injuries all over his body, and the people who work with Blue at the Parks and Recreation Department said this will be tough for Blue to get over.
"I felt really bad about it because I know that safety is his number one priority," said John Homer, "I'm sure he feels awful about the whole thing."
The school said Tuesday everyone is okay and many of the kids were back in class.
