(OTSEGO TOWNSHIP) - A Metropolitan School District of Steuben County school bus overturned Monday morning in rural Otsego Township, sending the driver and one student to the hospital with pain injuries.
Steuben County deputies were called just after 9:30 a.m. Monday to the 5500 block of South County Road 300 East on an initial report that a school bus had overturned and it was unknown whether children were on board.
When deputies arrived, they found the 2025 Freightliner bus on its side off the west side of the road.
Investigators say the bus was occupied by driver Jennie Hammond, 71, of rural Angola, and one passenger, 19-year-old Makenna Warner of Angola. Both were able to safely get out of the bus.
According to the preliminary crash investigation, the bus was traveling south from County Road 500 South when it drifted off the roadway, causing the right-side tires to drop off the pavement. The bus then overturned into a roadside ditch.
Deputies say a review of the bus's surveillance cameras showed Hammond appeared to be momentarily distracted by a cellphone, which contributed to the bus drifting to the edge of the road.
Both Hammond and Warner were taken to Cameron Hospital by Steuben County EMS for treatment of pain-related injuries.
Authorities say the weather was clear and the road was dry, with alcohol not believed to be a factor.
The sheriff's office says seatbelts were in use and effective for the driver, while the passenger was not restrained.
Hammond was cited for using a telecommunications device while operating a moving motor vehicle.