Sumter school bus carrying Kingsbury Elementary students crashes airborne through one house, takes out shed next door

Dano Winchester was working on a contracted remodeling project in a home that had been damaged by a car crashing into it on McCrays Mill Road when he heard what sounded like an explosion, then kids screaming.

A Sumter school bus carrying five elementary school students had just crashed through the house next door and took out the shed on the property on which he was working Friday afternoon.

“I knew what had happened once I heard it,” Winchester said.

He ran out, the bus’ horn blaring, and helped pry the door open for the bus driver to hand the kids out to him.

No major injuries were reported, and exactly what caused the bus driver to go off the road is not yet clear. Winchester said he saw a couple bloody lips from where the kids had hit the seats in front of them. It could have been much worse.

The bus was making the curve on the road toward Sumter High School and left the roadway at one driveway, struck the entire side of a second house and ricocheted to the left, mowing down a chain link fence and crashing into a shed at a third house, according to what could be seen on scene and Scott Floyd, a Sumter resident who was driving two cars behind the bus and said he saw the bus go airborne.

“I remember following the bus and just hoping he wouldn’t make us stop before we got to the school zone,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. I’m glad they’re all OK.”

Floyd, Winchester and other neighbors or drivers who saw the crash all were “coming out of everywhere” to help. Becky Anderson, a Sumter resident, helped corral the kids and tried to keep them calm until EMS and their parents showed up.

She said the kids handled the situation well for what it was. They didn’t really cry, and they listened to what they were told to do. They were shaken, clearly scared.

Shelly Galloway, spokeswoman for the school district, said the vehicle involved was Bus No. 215 and that all students were assessed at the scene by EMS and released to their parents.

This is the second time the owners of that corner house have seen a vehicle crash into their yard.

A 2-year-old and her father were injured, the toddler seriously, in November 2017 when a City of Sumter pickup truck rammed through the house after crashing due to an unidentified “medical issue,” hitting the two while they were on their couch.

The wife, a middle school teacher in Sumter, ran up to the scene Friday afternoon.

“That’s my house. That’s my house,” she said, reaching law enforcement and firefighter first responders. Her first question was to make sure the children on board and everyone else was OK.

The family has sued the city for damages in the November 2017 incident.

The Sumter Fire Department, Sumter Police Department, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Highway Patrol and Sumter County EMS were on scene Friday to help those involved and direct traffic. The highway patrol will be investigating the incident.