Week later, bus accident still fresh in parents’ minds

    On Tuesday, a week after the Sept. 27 Chase County Schools bus accident, thoughts of “What if?” continue to cross Megan Wenzlick’s mind.
    Wenzlick and husband Nathan had two daughters on the school bus that was hit by a full-loaded semi-truck on  Champion Spur 15A, four miles southwest of Imperial.
    One of the Wenzlick girls escaped unharmed, and the other sustained cuts and scrapes.
    “The kids seem to be so strong with this,” Megan said Tuesday afternoon.
    “I keep thinking ‘What if?’ and how lucky we were.”
    When Megan arrived on the scene, she said their first grade daughter, Italy, had blood on her hands and shoes, suffered a bloody nose and a gash on her face.
    Penelope, their kindergartner, didn’t have a scratch.
    They were seated toward the front of the bus, away from the impact to the rear passenger side, Megan said. The sisters sat across the aisle from each other.
    The other two Wenzlick school-age children, sixth grader Kacen and fifth grader Ari, normally ride the bus, too.
    Both had remained in town that day for football and volleyball practice, their mother said.
    She said she knows they often sit at the rear of the bus.
    Megan said the news of the school bus accident—a parent’s worst nightmare—was buffered a lot because she was first contacted by passerby Jacci Brown before CCS officials called about 20 minutes later.
    Brown, who lives in rural Champion, was on the highway and came upon the accident.
    Megan said Brown called her, telling her of the accident  and said “I have your girls and they are okay.”
    Megan said she was waiting for the bus to get home so she could take the girls to ballet classes. After Brown’s call, she got in her car and drove to the scene about 20 miles away.
    She called Nathan, who was in a tractor, and he came shortly after.
    “I think if I had been called by the school first without knowing their condition I’d be rushing to the hospital not knowing what I would find,” she said.
    Brown’s call gave her some peace of mind, she said.
    When she arrived on scene, she held her girls for awhile and eventually took them to the hospital herself.
    They were treated and released.
    The Wenzlick girls stayed home from school the day after the accident. Penelope returned to class Thursday and Italy on Friday, their mother said.
    They didn’t get there by school bus, however.
    Megan said she will be taking them to and from school now, but believes they’ll eventually get back on the bus.
    “I think they’ll be okay,” she said.
    Eleven of the 12 students on the bus were taken to the hospital after the accident either be Imperial EMS ambulance, an Imperial Volunteer Fire Department vehicle, a CCS van or by parents.
    The accident happened shortly before 4 p.m. as students were being bussed home after the school day.
    Three of the students were later life-flighted out, according to Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller’s report.
    Three helicopters and a plane came to Imperial for those transports, Mueller said.
    This week, Mueller’s office confirmed two of the three students flown out have been released from area trauma centers and are home.
    The third remains in a Denver hospital.
Bus driver cited
    According to a Sept. 30 release from the sheriff’s office, driver of the CCS bus, Keith Cranwell of Champion, 39, was cited for failure to yield the right of way and careless driving.
    Mueller said the citations were issued after they completed the preliminary investigation.
    Cranwell will appear in Chase County Court Oct. 26 at 1 p.m.
    Mueller said more information may be released as the investigation concludes.
    In a recap of the accident, Mueller said the school bus, a 2020 Integrated CES owned by Chase County Schools, attempted to make a left-hand turn from the highway, when it collided with a 1992 Peterbilt semi pulling a fully loaded grain trailer and driven by 20-year-old Chance D. Lotspeich of Venango. The semi is owned by KAK Inc. of Champion and was traveling northbound on the highway.
    The semi impacted the rear passenger side of the bus, causing it to rotate 90 degrees and overturn onto the driver’s side.
    The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department used its jaws of life equipment to widen the rear door opening of the bus, from which most students were removed.
    One student was removed from the hatch at the top of the bus, Mueller said.