It started off like any other normal day for a group of children riding the bus to school. Their parents walked them to the bus stop, said their goodbyes, and believed that their kids were going to be safe as they were escorted to school. Instead, the school bus was rear-ended by a semi-truck and flipped on its side by the impact.

The truck accident sent eight children to the hospital, though fortunately none of the injuries were life-threatening. The crash occurred in the morning hours of December 13 near Roseau, Minnesota.

Few details were known about the bus driver, aged 61, or the semi-truck driver, aged 76, both of whom escaped the accident unharmed. Police responded to the incident and no charges were filed against either driver.

Still, hitting something as large and noticeable as a yellow school bus seems suspicious. Without any concrete evidence, it is impossible to know exactly what happened in this case, but there are a variety of ways for something as simple as a car or truck accident to happen.

It was a cloudy day when the crash occurred and road conditions could have been less than ideal. Accidents such as these occur every day. However, had either driver been negligent to the rules of the road or just not paying attention, there could be grounds for legal action.

Any family should be confident sending their child off to school in a school bus. There are very strict rules in place to protect school zones, school buses and most importantly the children attending school, for reasons highlighted by this accident.

Source: Northland NewsCenter, "School Bus Accident Sends Eight Children To Hospital," Alyssa Kroeten, Dec. 13, 2011