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April 18, 2005
School Bus Accident in Arlington
I heard the sirens around 8:45 a.m. as I was sitting on my deck enjoying my morning coffee. The fire and rescue vehicles seemed terribly excessive for an average morning rush-hour traffic accident. As I sat there, looking toward to direction of the Pentagon, I thought of how the sounds were so similar on September 11th. It was a clear, beautiful morning back then, just as it was this morning. I looked for signs of an explosion, but didn't see any. I came inside and checked my local news channel and didn't find any mention of anything unusual in my community. Then my cell phone went off and the house phone rang -- the callers notified me that it was a school bus accident just down the road on Columbia Pike.
I took my time getting there. I didn't want to see injured children. I didn't want to become part of the "media circus" -- I just wanted to document the incident and leave. What is compelling to me about these images is that we don't need to see dead or injured children to know that something terrible happened here. A child lay dead inside the school bus behind the red tarp in these images, but we don't need to see it. What purpose would that serve? Morbid curiousity?
Arlington County Press Release
Arlington County has released a new press release entitled:
School Bus Involved in Fatal Accident
ARLINGTON, Va. - An accident this morning involving an Arlington Public School bus and a trash truck resulted in one fatality. Parents of children have been contacted.
At approximately 8:40 a.m., Arlington Public School Bus #113/route #271 to Hoffman-Boston Elementary School was traveling westbound on Columbia Pike, attempting to make a left turn onto S. Courthouse Road. The trash truck was traveling eastbound on Columbia Pike and the two vehicles collided in the intersection.
A total of 17 people were involved in the vehicles; two adults, who were driving the vehicles, and 15 children. One child was fatally injured. Four patients including the two adults and two children were critically injured. The truck driver was evacuated by helicopter.
All passengers have been transported to local hospitals. Arlington Public Schools counseling teams are assisting parents at the hospital and children and staff at the school.
Arlington County Police Department's Critical Accident Team is handling the investigation, assisted by the Virginia State Police.
Release #2
Arlington County has released a new press release entitled:
Accident Claims Life of Local Arlington Student
NOTE TO MEDIA: This is a joint release from Arlington County and Arlington
Public Schools.
ARLINGTON, Va. - Nine-year-old Lilibeth Gomez was killed in a collision this
morning just before 9 a.m. between an Arlington Public Schools bus and a
commercial trash truck. She was a third-grade student at Hoffman-Boston
Elementary School.
Two children, ages seven and 11, were also seriously injured during the
accident. The bus was transporting students to Hoffman-Boston and was traveling
westbound on Columbia Pike. The commercial trash truck was traveling eastbound
on Columbia Pike and the two vehicles collided near the intersection of South
Courthouse Road.
"Today is a very sad day for all of us in Arlington," said Arlington School
Superintendent Dr. Rob Smith. "My deepest personal sympathies go to the Gomez
family; I cannot imagine the heartbreak that this family is going through. I
know everyone in the community will keep all the students and families in their
hearts and in their thoughts."
A total of 17 people were involved in this morning's accident - 15 children and
two drivers. Twelve children were treated and released at a local area
hospital. Two children remain hospitalized; one remains in critical condition
and one is in serious condition. The drivers remain hospitalized and in
critical condition.
Arlington Public Schools will continue to provide counseling and support to
Hoffman-Boston parents, students and staff. Arlington's Department of Human
Services will have outreach staff available for anyone in the community who
needs additional assistance; contact 703-228-5160.
A team from the National Transportation and Safety Administration, Virginia
State Police, and Arlington County Police Department's Critical Accident Team is
investigating the accident.
Arlington county news releases are also available online at www.arlingtonva.us.
###
Please note that there may have been updates to this release since the sending
of this email. To see the current version of this release on the Arlington
County website, go here:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/NewsReleases/scripts/ViewDetail.asp?Index=1753
Posted by Lana at April 18, 2005 3:12 PM
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Comments
Great spot news photo. Too bad about the casualty, though.
Posted by: Bryon S. Houlgrave at May 18, 2005 5:29 AM
Thanks, Bryon. I should have added that a second child, a young boy, died a few days later from injuries he sustained in the crash. He never regained consciousness. . . .
Posted by: Lana at May 18, 2005 9:53 AM
when i heard about thiz it waz tue 04.19.05 a day after and i waz so shocked cause i knew lilibeth gomez
Posted by: jesly at July 26, 2005 5:08 PM
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