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The driver of the truck was airlifted to an area hospital.
A collision involving a school bus and a box truck in Riverside on Monday afternoon closed Flanders Road for hours. DANA SHAW
A box truck rear-ended a school bus on Flanders Road on Monday afternoon. DANA SHAW
A collision involving a school bus and a box truck in Riverside on Monday afternoon closed Flanders Road for hours. DANA SHAW
Because a school bus was involved, the call went out to first responders as a mass casualty incident. DANA SHAW
The driver of a box truck was seriously injured, and six children and a bus driver suffered minor injuries on Monday afternoon, September 20, when the box truck collided with a school bus on Flanders Road in Riverside.
Flanders Road was closed for approximately three hours following the crash. At around 4:15 p.m., the box truck, driven by 42-year-old Juan I. Gillen Jimenez slammed into the back of a Riverhead Central School District bus carrying about 35 students of the Riverhead Charter School.
By around 7:30 p.m. Monday night, Flanders Road was reopened. Southampton Town Police said the crash was treated as a mass casualty event due to the involvement of a bus carrying children.
The New York State Police Motor Carrier Safety Unit responded to the crash site in front of 261 Flanders Road, near the Suffolk Federal Credit Union building, as did Westhampton Beach Ambulance, Flanders Northampton Ambulance, Southampton Ambulance, Mattituck Ambulance, Flanders Fire Department and Riverhead Fire Department.
Mr. Jimenez was transported by Suffolk County Police Department Aviation to Stony Brook Hospital for serious injuries. As of Monday night, he was listed in stable condition. The school bus driver and six children were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.
By 4:30 p.m., Flanders Road was closed between Old Quogue Road and Ludlam Avenue, but as the response progressed, the closure stretched to County Route 105 and the Riverside traffic circle. The 29 children were diverted to reunite with their parents at Phillips Avenue Elementary School, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman reported.
