OKLAHOMA CITY – The rear axle of a school bus fell off in the middle of the street early Friday morning.
A new, 2016 Freightliner Thomas C-2 model school bus was traveling north on May around 7:25 a.m., and was about to turn onto NW 63rd when the axle fell off.
“I mean it’s very unique, something even our transportation director had never even experienced before,” said Mark Myers, a spokesman for the Oklahoma City School District. “Especially for a bus that just came off the line.”
Myers says a U-bolt failed.
Officials say around seven children were on the bus when the axle fell off, but no children were injured. The driver complained of knee pain and is seeking medical attention.
Another school bus picked the children up and took them to school.
The district has 13 other buses that are of the same make and model. Myers says those buses will all stay on the road unless an investigation turns up anything dangerous.
Myers says the district is taking a proactive approach and plans to closely examine each and every one of those buses.
“The vendor, the maker have been notified and everyone’s taking a very close look to figure out what happened this morning,” said Myers. “We are going out and inspecting all the buses, especially those with the same make and model and making sure there aren’t any issues.”
The bus that lost its axle joined the fleet in December 2014. A month later, the district says it was involved in a “collision,” but was repaired by a vendor.
The district says the bus is up-to-date on all service.
The vendor, El Reno-based Midwest Bus Sales, is looking into what went wrong.
“At the present time we have contacted the manufacturer, for their or others participation in the cause of this situation,” Midwest Bus Sales said in a statement. “This unit was previously involved in an accident and the review will include if previous damage was a factor in this occurrence. Without inspection and investigation there is no other information or comment available at this time.”
