SUV collides with school bus in Hastings

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - A Hastings man has been cited following an accident involving a school bus Wednesday morning.

The accident happened at the intersection of west 2nd Street and north Laird Avenue, when a Ford Expedition heading eastbound ran a red light and hit a northbound Hastings Public School bus.

The bus then jumped the curb and landed part in the roadway and part in front of C2 Motorcycles shop.

Hastings Police Captain Mike Doremus said the bus driver was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries while a bus monitor hit her head. She was taken by private vehicle to the hospital to get checked out. Six children were on the bus at the time of the crash. They were uninjured and eventually taken to Watson Elementary by another bus.

The school bus suffered damage to the front driver’s side while the SUV was totaled.

Captain Doremus said the SUV driver, Jose Lagunas Gonzalez, ran the red light due to the glare of the sun. The 37-year-old was cited for violation of a traffic signal and no operator’s license.

HPD said Hastings Public Schools will notify parents about the accident.