(Emmetsburg)– A collision this (Wednesday) morning in Palo Alto county involving a school bus and a Ford Ranger pickup injured five people, including several kids on the bus.
The Sheriff’s Office says it happened shortly before 8:00 a.m. northeast of Mallard at the intersection of 510th Avenue and 460th Street.
Authorities say the pickup, driven by Kyal Boeckholt of Rolfe, was northbound on 510th Avenue when he collided with an eastbound West Bend-Mallard school bus driven by Lester Buenger of West Bend.
The bus went into the north ditch; the pickup came to rest on the roadway facing east.
Two male students ages five and 12 that were on the bus were transported by ambulance to the Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg with non-incapacitating injuries.
Buenger–the bus driver–and a 14-year-old student on the bus, were transported by private vehicle for treatment of non-incapacitating injuries.
Boeckholt was taken by ambulance to Palo Alto County Hospital and was airlifted to a Mason City hospital. There was no immediate word on the extent of his injuries or condition.
The pickup Boekholt was driving was totaled; the school bus sustained an estimated 40-thousand dollars in damage.
The Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the scene by the Iowa State Patrol, Palo Alto County Ambulance and the Mallard First Responders.
Authorities say charges are pending.
