“Nancy Jessee show (sic) a photo taken of the guardrail damaged when the Yelm school
bus in which her 16-year-old grandson Matthew Fijalka was a passenger crashed into it.”
Credit: Steve Bloom, The Olympian

– Lisa Pemberton filed this front-page story in The Olympian this morning:
Yelm school bus crash victim: “Everybody was yelling … ‘Stop the bus, stop the bus!’”

“The families of four students in the Yelm Community Schools have reported that their children were injured in the school bus crash that happened Nov. 28 when a substitute bus driver struck a guardrail and then continued to drive for several miles before stopping, according to Superintendent Brian Wharton.”

“The driver, who began working for the district in March and has since resigned, was cited for hit and run because he left the scene of a crash, according to Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil.

The police investigation is continuing, Stancil said. The driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he said.”

“The incident prompted school district officials to take immediate steps to make sure the district’s 55 regular and substitute drivers know what’s expected of them after a collision, [Yelm Community Schools Superintendent Brian] Wharton said.”
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Editor’s note:
Kudos to Superintendent Wharton and his staff for their vision and foresight to turn this situation into an opportunity for the betterment of Yelm Schools.