Springfield Township Driver Killed in Collision with School Bus

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) -- A Ford Freestar was heading southbound on Dixie Highway about 7:30 a.m. It struck a school bus turning left onto westbound Big Lake Road.

The driver of the mini van, 58-year-old Carol Ann Malear of Springfield Township, was killed.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department is looking at the cause of the fatal accident.

"Obviously the color of the light's going to be a determining factor, who had right of way at the intersection when they were entering," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

There were 26 students on the bus from Waterford Kettering High School.

"We had one student who reported a headache. EMS transported that student just for observation, but the students, obviously, are shaken by the event, but no injuries," said Rhonda Lessel with the Waterford School District.

The students on the bus are being offered counseling.

Many Kettering students routinely take the bus to the Oakland Schools technical campus in Clarkston for vocational courses.

The sheriff's department is looking for help.

"If anybody happened to be in that intersection and saw what happened and left or was there but didn't leave their name, it would be a great assistance to our fatal accident investigators to get the information of what they saw," Bouchard said.

The school district spokesperson said the 43-year-old bus driver from Waterford has a clean record.

"It's sad to see someone get up and head off for the day and you never see them again, and it's a stark reality that it unfortunately happens out here on these roads," Bouchard told us.