JENNINGS COUNTY — A Jennings County School Corp. bus aide who had worked for the corporation for a decade was killed in a two-vehicle collision at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at the State Road 7 and State Road 3 split near Vernon.
Mary Boyd, 74, North Vernon, was on the bus with driver Robert J. Ringer, 72, North Vernon, when the accident occurred, Indiana State Police said. Boyd was transported to St. Vincent-Jennings Hospital in North Vernon where she was pronounced dead by the Jennings County Coroner’s office.
In her job as a bus aide, Boyd was riding on the bus route to monitor students, Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said. No students were on the bus at the time of the crash. The bus was reportedly used to transport special needs students.
According to an Indiana State Police-Versailles Crash Reconstruction Team report, Ringer was driving a 2016 International school bus, owned by the Jennings County School Corp., south on State Road 7.
A 2013 Chevrolet truck, being driven by Harry T. Palmer, 48, North Vernon, was traveling north on State Road 7, Wheeles said.
Palmer attempted to turn south onto State Road 3 in front of the bus resulting in the bus striking the passenger side of Palmer’s truck, said Wheeles who is the public information officer for the state police post at Versailles.
The bus came to a stop in the middle of State Road 7, Wheeles said. Palmer’s vehicle came to rest just off the roadway.
Palmer and a passenger in his vehicle, Steven P. Graham, 44, North Vernon, were both transported to St. Vincent-Jennings Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Wheeles said. Ringer was not injured in the crash.
Toxicology results are pending and an investigation continues, Wheeles said.
Assisting at the scene were the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office, Jennings County EMS, Vernon Fire Department, the Jennings County Coroner’s Office and the Jennings County School Corp.