Link at the bottom will show my daughter, my son, & myself speaking about the accident.
Heather Keung was putting away groceries in her Town of Salem house when her worst nightmare visited in the form of a phone call from her daughter.
Eight-year-old Edie said she and her 5-year-old brother, Ethan, had just been in a school bus accident on the way home from Wheatland Center School.
Keung's house was close enough for her to hear the sirens. She ran outside, drove toward the sirens and ran across Highway 50 to check on her children after their bus had been rear-ended by a semitrailer truck.
"It was crazy," Keung said of the accident scene. "There were so many people from so many places."
Less than 24 hours after the crash, parents of some of the 14 children involved said they were surprised and grateful the injuries hadn't been worse.
The truck driver remained in intensive care at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa on Saturday, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department.
Keung's son suffered abrasions to his face and breathing problems due to smoke inhalation. Her daughter hurt her elbow.
Other children had worse injuries, but all but one had been released from hospitals by Saturday afternoon. That girl was reported in good condition at Children's Hospital early Saturday evening.
"We were so lucky, so blessed, I don't know what to say about it," said Mary Miles, who had four children on the bus when it was struck near her house. Six-year-old Chas Miles was thrown from the bus and was taken to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee by Flight for Life.
He suffered a concussion and abrasions to his arms and face from the accident, which occurred about 3:40 p.m. as he and his siblings were being dropped off from St. Alphonsus School, Miles said. His older brother, 12-year-old Tegan, suffered a sore ankle and a bump on his head; sisters 8-year-old Mikelle and 10-year-old Makana had mostly bruises, Miles said.
"It sure could have been worse," she said.
In fact, Keung thinks the emotional scars will linger longer than the physical injuries for her children.
"They've already told me, 'I'm not riding the bus again, mommy,' " Keung said.
"From now until the end of the year - it's only two weeks - I can deal with taking them for two weeks. But, starting next year, they're going to have to start riding the bus again, and we're going to speak to somebody about it."
A Kenosha sheriff's news release did not identify either driver in the crash, and a spokesman for the department did not return a call Saturday.
Sheriff David Beth said Friday that it appeared the truck driver may have been drinking a soda or coughing when he came upon the bus, which was stopped with its flashing lights on and stop sign extended. Both vehicles were eastbound on 50, just west of county Highway B.
Heather Keung was putting away groceries in her Town of Salem house when her worst nightmare visited in the form of a phone call from her daughter.
Eight-year-old Edie said she and her 5-year-old brother, Ethan, had just been in a school bus accident on the way home from Wheatland Center School.
Keung's house was close enough for her to hear the sirens. She ran outside, drove toward the sirens and ran across Highway 50 to check on her children after their bus had been rear-ended by a semitrailer truck.
"It was crazy," Keung said of the accident scene. "There were so many people from so many places."
Less than 24 hours after the crash, parents of some of the 14 children involved said they were surprised and grateful the injuries hadn't been worse.
The truck driver remained in intensive care at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa on Saturday, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department.
Keung's son suffered abrasions to his face and breathing problems due to smoke inhalation. Her daughter hurt her elbow.
Other children had worse injuries, but all but one had been released from hospitals by Saturday afternoon. That girl was reported in good condition at Children's Hospital early Saturday evening.
"We were so lucky, so blessed, I don't know what to say about it," said Mary Miles, who had four children on the bus when it was struck near her house. Six-year-old Chas Miles was thrown from the bus and was taken to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee by Flight for Life.
He suffered a concussion and abrasions to his arms and face from the accident, which occurred about 3:40 p.m. as he and his siblings were being dropped off from St. Alphonsus School, Miles said. His older brother, 12-year-old Tegan, suffered a sore ankle and a bump on his head; sisters 8-year-old Mikelle and 10-year-old Makana had mostly bruises, Miles said.
"It sure could have been worse," she said.
In fact, Keung thinks the emotional scars will linger longer than the physical injuries for her children.
"They've already told me, 'I'm not riding the bus again, mommy,' " Keung said.
"From now until the end of the year - it's only two weeks - I can deal with taking them for two weeks. But, starting next year, they're going to have to start riding the bus again, and we're going to speak to somebody about it."
A Kenosha sheriff's news release did not identify either driver in the crash, and a spokesman for the department did not return a call Saturday.
Sheriff David Beth said Friday that it appeared the truck driver may have been drinking a soda or coughing when he came upon the bus, which was stopped with its flashing lights on and stop sign extended. Both vehicles were eastbound on 50, just west of county Highway B.
