Bus, car crash causing injuries

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LAPEL — A car and a small school bus collided this morning at the intersection of State Road 32 and County Road 675 West, seriously injuring the driver of the car.

According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, the car — driven by a juvenile male — crossed the center line shortly before 7 a.m. and crashed into the bus, which is owned/operated by the Hamilton County Catholic High School Corp. and marked Guerin Catholic High School.

The driver of the car was transported via Indiana University Lifeline helicopter to a hospital in Indianapolis with a serious leg injury.

There were three juvenile passengers from Anderson as well as the driver on board the bus. One passenger complained of lower leg pain, another passenger received a scrape and the third passenger was uninjured.

The bus driver, Noel Leonard Merrick, was transported to St. Vincent Anderson Regional Hospital with back pain.

According to the sheriff’s department, officers arrived to find the bus — a 2002 Chevrolet C/T — “on its side with heavy front end damage.”

The car — a 2002 Chrysler 300 — was off the road, too, also with “heavy damage.”

The driver of the car was trapped in his vehicle before help arrived, according to sheriff’s department information. He was conscious and alert.

According to the sheriff’s department, witness accounts and evidence at the scene show the car crossed the center line and the vehicles hit at their left front corners.

The crash is still under investigation.