School Bus Rear-Ends SUV on Pacific Avenue With 40 Students Aboard

A school bus carrying approximately 40 children rear-ended an SUV near Pacific Avenue and 32nd Street on March 4, sending Yuma Fire Department crews to the intersection and prompting a transfer of students to a second bus before investigators cleared the scene.

Capt. David Padilla of the Yuma Fire Department described the situation on arrival as better than it could have been. "We arrived on the scene to find a bus with 40 or [more] kids, thankfully no one was injured, everyone seems to be okay...some minor complaints. We are transferring all the kids from one bus onto another bus, but thankfully everyone is okay," Padilla said.

Neither the bus nor the SUV remained at the scene after crews finished their assessment. The Yuma Fire Department confirmed that all traffic lanes on Pacific Avenue and 32nd Street had reopened once both vehicles were removed. No students were reported transported to a hospital as a result of the crash.

The exact cause of the collision remains under investigation. Officials have not released the names of the bus driver or the SUV driver, and no school district has been publicly identified in connection with the route. The time of the crash was also not disclosed in initial reports from the scene.

Pacific Avenue near 32nd Street is a heavily traveled corridor in Yuma, and collisions involving school buses draw particular concern given the number of young passengers typically aboard. Questions still outstanding include whether any citations were issued, which agency is leading the investigation, and how the district notified families about the incident.