Teen driver strikes bus in LaGrange Township

LAGRANGE TWP. — A 16-year-old LaGrange boy rushing to get his sister to cheerleading practice clipped a Keystone school bus causing a three-vehicle accident on Whitehead Road Tuesday afternoon.

According to a report from the Ohio Highway Patrol, no one was injured in the accident, which happened around 4 p.m. on Whitehead Road, just south of Webster Road.

Bus driver Diane Harper, 42, was heading north on Whitehead Road and 16-year-old Jacob Stump of LaGrange attempted to pass the bus on the left, according to the patrol. However, as soon as Jacob crossed over to the southbound lane, he realized a car driven by 20-year-old Whitney Albrecht was heading south, the report said.

Click on the photos to view larger.

  • 29SEP09  Possible area of damage to a Keystone LD bus when a driver had to cut back after trying to pass.  This is the left front of the bus.  The incident happened on Whitehead Rd. south of …
  • 29SEP09  OSP was sorting out this accident on Whitehead Rd. just south of the tracks south of Whitney Rd. in LaGrange.  This car was supposedly trying to pass the Keystone Local SD school bu …

Troopers said Albrecht realized Jacob was heading right for her and stopped her car just as Harper began slowing down the bus. Jacob cut in front of the bus, hitting both the bus and Albrecht’s 2009 Pontiac G6, the report said.

Jacob, who was driving a 2000 Ford Escort, went off the right side of the road, hit a mailbox and ended up in a ditch.

Everyone involved in the accident was wearing a seat belt. One student was on the bus at the time of the accident. His mother came to pick up the child, the report said.

Jacob, who told troopers he was taking his sister and her friend to cheerleading practice, was cited for improper passing. The area was a legal passing zone, but troopers say Jacob did not pass in a safe manner, the report said.



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