Blacksburg Police are investigating a school bus crash that injured seven elementary school students and the driver of one car. Police were called to the 1300 block of South Main Street at 3:38 this afternoon to investigate a two vehicle collision. Police found that a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was stopped at a red traffic light had been hit from behind by a 1999 Blue Bird School Bus. The bus, carrying 50 students and a driver, was with the Montgomery County Public Schools and had just left a near-by elementary school. The driver of the bus claims to have been distracted by his passengers and was unable to stop before colliding with the Jeep. Blacksburg Rescue Squad transported 7 passengers of the bus to Montgomery Regional Hospital with a variety of non-life threatening injuries. The students ranged in age from 7-10 years and were met at the hospital by parents, friends and relatives. The driver of the jeep, 24-year-old Rachel Whay-Re Muh, was also taken to the hospital with multiple minor injuries. The Jeep was listed as a total loss; the bus sustained an estimated $5,000.00 damage. The bus driver, 72-year-old Thomas Lee Hall of Christiansburg, was charged at the scene with Failure to Maintain Control of the vehicle. He is scheduled to appear in a Blacksburg Court on March 7, 2007.
