2 dead, 12 injured in bus-train crash in North Dakota

Associated Press

FARGO, N.D.

A school bus failed to yield to railroad-crossing and stop signs and collided with an empty freight train Monday in North Dakota, killing the bus driver and a 17-year-old student and injuring 12 other people, the Highway Patrol said.

The accident happened at 3:39 p.m. Monday on a gravel road about 5 miles east of Larimore in the northeastern part of the state. The bus was from the Larimore Public School District, authorities said.

Highway Patrol Lt. Troy Hischer said the bus was heading north on a county road when it was struck by a westbound BNSF freight train. He said the train struck the bus on the passenger side, near the doors. The 62-year-old bus driver and a 17-year-old student were ejected from the vehicle and killed.

The ages of the students on the bus ranged from 5 to 17, Hischer said.