OLIVE TWP., MI (WHTC) – Two separate yet related accidents involving Allendale Public Schools buses occurred within minutes of each other in West Olive this morning.
The first crash occurred around 7:45 AM when the northbound car of Aron Lyon tried to get around a vehicle ahead of him that was turning left on 120th Avenue at Polk Street. Lyon veered to the right, lost control, went back onto the roadway and struck head on a southbound bus that was transporting students to the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District’s Careerline Tech Center. The bus spun around and hit a parked farm tractor trailor nearby. There were 24 students on board who were not hurt, but bus driver Patricia Verbeeke was taken to Spectrum-Zeeland Community Hospital for observation.
When word of that crash occurred, district officials dispatched another bus that had just dropped off students at the OAISD complex to pick up the 24 students. That vehicle was eastbound on Port Sheldon Street near 148th Avenue when driver Willis Meyer, a 54-year-old Allendale man, may have suffered a medical incident. It drifted into the path of a westbound tanker truck, driven by 65-year-old Jerry Teravest of Byron Center, and ended up landing on its side. Meyer was also taken to Spectrum-ZCH for treatment.
A third bus eventually took the students to the Careerline Tech Center for classes. There was no report of injuries suffered by Lyon or Teravest; Lyon was ticketed by responding deputies.
Both crashes remain under investigation by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.
-Gary Stevens
