Davenport bus accident sends four students to hospital

Four students were taken to a hospital with minor injuries Tuesday after a Davenport School District bus collided with a Jeep.

The bus was northbound on Highway 25 about a half mile north of Davenport when it struck a northbound Jeep Wagoneer that was attempting to pull over to the side of the road about 3 p.m., the Washington State Patrol reported in a press release.

There were 39 students aboard who were headed home from school. Four students and the two drivers were taken to Lincoln Hospital in Davenport and treated and released, WSP said.

Davenport resident Dennis J. Stiles, 35, was driving the Jeep and had turned on his hazard lights after the vehicle lost power, WSP said.

The driver of the bus, Davenport resident Joan E. Wintersteen, 50, had looked into her rearview mirror to attend to a student when the bus collided with the Jeep in front of her.

“Anyone who complained of anything we had sent in to be checked out,” said Davenport Superintendent Gary Greene.

The students were taken to a nearby county building, Greene said. Parents were called and told they could pick up their children. A different bus took home the rest of the uninjured kids.

“The kids were just super.” Greene said. “I don’t think any of the kids had been in a wreck before, but they were troopers.”