NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — On Thursday morning, the New Orleans Police Department responded to a vehicle crash at the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Josephine streets. The incident was first reported at about 8:35 a.m.
According to a statement from the NOPD, the initial investigation showed that a school bus driver “attempted to break up a fight between students when the bus struck the rear of an SUV taxi. The impact then reportedly caused the taxi to move forward and strike the rear of a third vehicle, which left the scene.”
The NOPD statement also says that twenty students were reported to be on the school bus at the time, and that two of the students reported non-critical injuries.
The NOPD says the bus driver “faces citations for failure to maintain reasonable vigilance and for no proof of insurance.”
Kipp New Orleans Schools also released a statement, acknowledging that the bus was assigned to one of the Kipp schools.
The statement says the “safety of our students is our number one priority both in and out of the classroom… (the bus) was involved in a minor traffic incident and no injuries were reported at the scene.”
The school bus company, First Student, released a statement, via spokesperson Chris Kemper.
Kemper says “the driver will be retrained, and we will conduct an internal review of the incident. We also will support the New Orleans Police Department investigation any way we can.”
“We’re certainly happy and grateful,” says Kemper in the bus company statement, “that it appears that any injuries are minor in nature. ”