No serious injuries after truck hits Sprague school bus

Sprague High School's orchestra students appeared relieved and ready to play Friday afternoon, two hours after a truck crashed into the rear of the school bus carrying them to the OSAA Orchestra State Championships at Oregon State University.

"We're totally good," said Kyler Kelly, a junior violist who was in the last row of the bus along with Taylor Blevins, a junior violinist.

Kelly and Blevins suffered minor cuts from flying glass, but no one needed medical attention as a result of the crash.

It happened about 11:50 a.m. at the railroad tracks on Highway 34 between Interstate 5 and Corvallis.

According to Oregon State Police, a commercial truck driver didn't see that the bus in front of him had stopped at the tracks. The semi truck swerved into the next lane but the trailer hit the back of the school bus.

Dijana Ijas, the orchestra director, said the bus driver had come to a full stop at the tracks. "A big truck was right behind us. He tried to avoid us and he literally cut off the corner of the bus."

The students got off the bus and waited on the side of the road while police investigated and the Salem-Keizer School District sent a new bus to pick them up.

The driver of the truck, Jeffrey Moyer, 50, of Sandy was cited for following too close, state police said.

Meanwhile, Richard Rothweiler, the booster club president, called ahead and arranged for the string ensemble to take the stage at 3:40 p.m. instead of 1:15 p.m. as scheduled. "The directors didn't bat an eye" at scrambling the performance schedule, he said.

Madison Beals, a senior cellist, said that waiting outside for the second bus was harder, in a way, than experiencing the crash. It was hot, the air was full of pollen, and students were worried that the delay would cost them a chance to compete.

However, she said, the orchestra could count on the presence of its mascot, a tiny stuffed leopard named Sasha, that goes onstage for every concert hidden in a musician's clothing.

Jeff Metzger, a freshman violinist, said, "The big thing for us now will be to balance our emotions with actually going forward and creating the music that people love to hear."