A field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits on Saturday morning ended in an emergency triage scene for 124 middle school students when their two school buses collided on the northbound San Diego Freeway on the Westside.
Twenty-three Lennox Middle School students were treated for bruises, scratches and pains at local hospitals and were all released to relatives by Saturday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol. About 50 paramedics and firefighters and 11 ambulances converged near the crash site. But none of the students was seriously injured in the rear-end collision about 9:40 a.m. along a stretch of freeway near Palms Boulevard, where road work was going on.
Vanessa Gonzalez, 13, was knocked several feet out of her seat when the rear bus "stopped super hard," she said. "I hurt my hip and back; I was in a lot of pain."
Her sister, Kimberly, 11, said she watched as the driver grabbed the steering wheel, screamed "Man!" and then lowered his head in a defensive posture before the crash.
Kimberly said she hurtled forward, striking her nose on the seat in front of her. She said children began screaming and crying.
Then she overheard a friend make a cellphone call. "I heard her say, 'Mom, will you let me go to more field trips if you don't get mad at what I'm about to tell you? We've been in an accident.' "
Two of the 14 adult chaperons were also treated and released by local hospitals.
The drivers, Ulises Torres, 22, of Los Angeles and Carmen Gutierrez, 35, of Compton, were routinely evaluated at the scene for signs of drug and alcohol intoxication, but no violations were noted, according a statement by the CHP.
The two yellow school buses, operated by Durham School Services, were traveling between 50 and 55 mph in moderate traffic when traffic suddenly slowed to a stop. The lead bus, driven by Gutierrez, also came to an abrupt stop. The second bus crashed into it, according to the CHP.
The buses were escorted off the freeway and parked in a lot at a Ross Dress for Less store at the corner of National and Sepulveda boulevards.
A Lennox school spokesman, Cesar Morales, said the district was relieved that there were no major injuries. He said the district would review the CHP accident report and follow up with the students' families before determining any further course of action.
Durham officials were unavailable for comment.
