Students on bus report being sick — again

Published 5:10 pm Monday, March 27, 2023

Once again Monday afternoon, elementary school students from Hanford Dole school reported feeling sick on the ride home. And once again, the bus pulled in to the Miller’s Ferry Fire Department on Long Ferry Road for help.

This time the bus was followed into the parking lot of the department by two ambulances, and at least three students, all of which were ambulatory, were checked out. Two were taken by ambulance to the hospital, according to Rowan’s Emergency Services Chief Allen Cress.

The exact same thing happened, on the same route at the same time, last Friday, but on a different bus. On Monday, those students were treated for carbon monoxide exposure. According to officials, all the students who became ill were sitting on the back of the bus. The bus driver, it was reported, was treated for an unrelated issue.

The problem Monday appears to again be carbon monoxide exposure.

“We tested the students, and while their levels were not where they should be, they were not really high,” said Cress. He added that investigators had tested the buses and the school for elevated levels and found none. They were going to test the home of two students to be absolutely sure, but Cress said “everything in the house is electric, so that shouldn’t be an issue.” Beyond that, he was not sure what else could be done, but said no one had any serious health issues as a result of the incident

A spokesperson for the Rowan-Salisbury Schools said administrators had little information as yet because they were in a board meeting, but did say the schools’ director of transportation and other staff were at the scene with the students and driver.