A Bonny Eagle School District student was killed on Tuesday morning when he was struck by a school bus, school administrators have confirmed.
[RELATED: Rockland School Bus Driver Placed on Leave After Fatal Collision, Records Show Prior OUI Conviction…]
In response to the crash, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department shut down Northeast Road between Route 114 and Moody Road near the Edna Libby Elementary School.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news that there was a fatal accident involving an elementary-school aged student and a Bonny Eagel school bus this morning at around 8:00 a.m.,” said Bonny Eagle Superintendent Clay Gleason in a statement.
Police reportedly informed WMTW, that there was only one student on the bus at the time of the crash, and that he was the half-brother of the victim.
The Maine Wire obtained video footage of the heavy police response to the crash.
The Edna Libby Elementary School will dismiss students early at 11:30 a.m. to allow them to be with their families. Other schools in the district will continue their normal school days, although after-school activities are canceled.
Gleason said that the district is cooperating with an investigation by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department to determine the cause of the crash. He did not disclose who was driving the bus at the time of the incident.
“Speculation or blame on social media is not productive or helpful, and is disrespectful to the memory of the student and their family,” said Gleason.
The Maine Wire reached out to the Bonney Eagle School District’s Transportation Secretary for more details, but he did not answer the phone call.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said that they could not provide additional details at this time, but that further information would be released regarding the tragedy.
After the publication of this article, the Cumberland Sheriff’s Department issued a press release confirming that the victim was a 5-year-old male kindergarten student. The release failed to name the bus driver involved in the crash.
The tragic death comes just one month after a Rockland school bus driver struck and killed a 12-year-old RSU 13 student.
In response to that crash, 65-year-old bus driver Jeffrey Colburn was placed on leave pending an investigation into the cause of the crash.
After Colburn was placed on leave, he either resigned or was fired because the RSU13 superintendent confirmed that he was no longer employed by the school. He had a history of crashes, including one in 2022 and one in October, when he struck a parked car while driving a bus.
Colburn also had a 2015 conviction for operating under the influence.
This post has been updated to include a press release from the Sheriff’s Department.
