N.C. school bus hit head on, seven students inside – riding home

A man unlicensed to drive crashed head on into a Person County school bus Monday afternoon.

Roxboro Police Chief David Hess said there were about seven students on the bus.

The crash occurred around 2:45 p.m. when Donald Tingen, 53, turned left onto Madison Boulevard onto Oak Street.

The yellow-painted metal just above the school bus’s front, right tire crumpled and tore.

“Person County school staff notified parents of the incident and worked with parents to safely pick up their children,” Hess said.

The bus’s driver was unharmed.

Tingen was transported to Person Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

“As a parent it is a scary phone call to hear the bus your child rides was involved in a crash,” Hess said.

The chief said police expect Tingen will be charged with driving without a license, driving left of center, failure to yield to a right of way and unsafe movement.

The crash remains under investigation.

“I commend school staff for calmly notifying parents their children were OK,” Hess said. “We are relieved that none of the students nor the bus driver were injured.”

Additional criminal charges may be issued after the completion of the investigation.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 6:02 PM with the headline "N.C. school bus hit head on, seven students inside – riding home."