MONROE — Three students on a "Route 2" public school bus sustained minor injuries in a traffic crash Tuesday afternoon at 8th Street and Wisconsin 69, according to the Monroe Police Department.
Officers responded to the intersection at 3:52 p.m.
A southbound van on Wis. 69 turned left onto 8th Street in front of the northbound school bus, causing the bus to hit the van.
The impact of the collision "spun" the van into two other vehicles waiting at the light, said Chief of Police Fred Kelley.
Three of the 26 students on the bus, a Lamers Bus Lines, Inc. vehicle contracted by the School District of Monroe, were transported to Monroe Clinic by ambulance for treatment of minor injuries.
Kelley did not know the ages of those injured but he said the students on the bus ranged in age from elementary to high school.
The van driver, Monico Garcia-Mendez, 55, Monroe, also sustained minor injuries but declined EMS transport. He was the sole occupant of the van.
Garcia-Mendez was cited for failure to yield right-of-way to oncoming traffic and for driving without a valid license.
The Lamers bus driver, Kerry A. Holland, 56, Gratiot, was uninjured.
The drivers of the other two vehicles involved in the accident, 61-year-old Craig A. Fuchs and Dennis L. Meier, 69, both of Monroe, were uninjured and the sole occupants in their vehicles.
The bus and van both sustained severe damage. The Fuchs and Meier vehicles had minor damage.
Joe Monroe, director of pupil services, sent a voicemail message about the accident to all parents in the district at about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday.
"I'm calling to inform you that one of our school buses was involved in a traffic accident today. This afternoon, Route 2 was delivering students home when it was involved in a traffic accident," he said in the message. He said parents of the injured students had already been contacted and all other students were safe.
Those students on the bus who did not report medical needs were put on another bus to take them home, Monroe said.
The scene of the traffic crash remained closed for about an hour, with the Monroe Street Department putting up barricades for safety. The Monroe Fire Department assisted Green County EMS with first aid at the scene.