Video shows New Prague school bus plowing through cornfield

NEW PRAGUE, Minn. (FOX 9) - In a close call at the start of the fourth week of the school year in New Prague, on Monday morning, a school bus carrying 50 middle schoolers and high schoolers left the road and entered a cornfield.

"This is an unfortunate situation that took place," New Prague Schools Superintendent Andy Vollmuth told FOX 9. "We’re thankful that no one was hurt."

What do we know?

Vollmuth says his district is investigating the single-vehicle crash that hospitalized a bus driver. Transportation director Craig Most has reviewed video of the crash from a school bus camera.

"Something just happened and we believe it was a true accident at this point," Most told FOX 9. "We don’t believe there’s anything criminal, anything that was done wrong by the driver herself; nothing that the kids did caused this [either]."

Context

New Prague administrators say they only hire drivers with clean driving records, and they conduct random drug and alcohol screenings.

"We would never put anyone behind the wheel that we didn’t deem to be safe, and to meet necessary qualifications," Vollmuth said. "This is an unfortunate situation, and we’re very thankful no one was injured. Our staff and our students will continue to use this information to make better decisions going forward."

What's next?

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the crash, while the school district says it plans to speak with the driver and could talk to students who were on board.