A three-vehicle collision involving a school bus occurred on 15th Avenue Northwest near the 3400 block Thursday evening, resulting in injuries to three middle school students, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
The incident occurred at about 4:17 p.m.
“All of a sudden I felt something hit us and then the brakes got pulled and then we stopped very suddenly and I kind of slammed into the seat in front of me,” said 13-year-old Katherine.
KIRO 7 spoke exclusively with Katherine, who is a middle school student injured in the crash. She was sitting in the back seat of the bus when it got hit.
“There was glass absolutely everywhere,” she added, “There was just debris everywhere.”
Seattle Police say the driver of a black Pontiac was originally driving southbound on 15th Avenue West when he switched lanes to exit. The black Pontiac ended up clipping a white Jeep.
Investigators say the Pontiac then swerved past the barrier into oncoming traffic in the northbound lanes. It landed in the bus’s direct path.
Katherine says their bus driver reacted quickly.
“She saw the black car starting to move towards us, and she slammed on the brakes,” she explained.
Police say the black Pontiac struck the back of the bus.
Katherine and two other students were injured. Officials say there were no other injuries reported.
Katherine says she is very grateful, knowing the crash could’ve been much worse.
She says her bus driver cares for all the students, and this was proof of that.
“Knowing that she, even in very stressful situations, she handled it very well. She was really nice, made sure that all of us were doing better,” Katherine added. " I’m very grateful that she’s my bus driver, and I think we all are, and I think everyone should be a little bit more grateful for their bus drivers, just going forward in general.”
Seattle Police say they cited the driver of the black Pontiac for causing the crash.