A USM shuttle bus was reportedly involved in an accident today at 1:45 p.m. when a car slid into it in Gorham.
Justicia Barreiros, USM student and Free Press photographer on board the bus, wrote about the scene in a statement shortly following the crash. The bus was going to the Gorham campus, Barreiros said, and had just passed the Gorham House of Pizza. It stopped to turn left onto College Ave. when a black Kia Sorento lost control, sliding through the stop sign on College Ave, colliding with front driver’s side of the bus. EMTs were shortly on the scene, but Barreiros said she heard no reports of injuries from either vehicle, though this has not yet been confirmed with officials. After talking with the police and EMTs on the site, students were allowed to walk back to the Gorham campus.
“I didn’t see the car when it hit us,” Barreiros said. “It just felt like we had hit the curb.”
“It was only when the driver started talking about an accident that I stood up and saw that a car had crashed into us.” Barreiros also said that she had heard multiple students question the administrative choice to hold classes today despite the inclement weather.
Officer Sanborn of the Gorham Police in charge of the investigation of the incident has not yet responded to questions. More information will be available later.
I’m not sure what it takes for USM to cancel school… The roads were pretty slick today and a lot of schools that aren’t commuter schools always seem to cancel their classes. It seems like the school does whatever it can to NOT cancel. I just don’t understand – safety first!
I also was on the bus seated in the back so I was on the whole time until the bus was permitted to continue on to Bailey Hall about an hour after the crash occurred I made it to a half hour of the class I was riding to Gorham for. I am now sitting at home with a warm pack on my shoulder as the jarring caused a previous whiplash to act up. I did not hear of anyone else being hurt either everyone on the bus refused EMS treatment on the scene. A mechanic and one of the owners of Custom Coach and Limousine showed up and declared that the power steering box was all that kept the bus from sustaining more damage.