KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No students were injured Monday morning when a pickup truck spun into a Knox County school bus waiting at the corner of Mine Road and Rutledge Pike on the east side of the Knoxville area, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies said the wreck started as a collision between two pickups. A black Chevrolet Silverado traveling west on Rutledge Pike failed to yield to a second truck at the intersection, and the two vehicles collided.
The impact sent the Silverado spinning into the bus, which was stopped and waiting to make a westbound turn onto Rutledge Pike. The sheriff’s office said the bus came away with only minor damage.
Both pickups were badly damaged and had to be hauled away by tow trucks. The sheriff’s office did not report any injuries to the drivers.
Rutledge Pike is the local name for U.S. 11E, one of the main federal highways serving Knoxville. The road runs through east Knoxville neighborhoods such as Burlington and Holston Hills before heading out toward the eastern end of the county, and it carries a steady mix of commuter, truck and school traffic on weekday mornings.
Knox County Schools is the largest employer in the Knoxville area, and its buses share busy county roads like Rutledge Pike with commuters every school day. Buses often sit at side-road intersections such as Mine Road while they wait for a gap to pull onto the highway.
The sheriff’s office handled the crash investigation. Officials did not say whether any of the drivers would be cited, and they did not report how long the intersection was blocked while the two trucks were cleared. Drivers on Rutledge Pike are reminded to slow down and yield at intersections where buses are stopped or turning, especially during the morning and afternoon school runs.
Section: More Knoxville TN crime news
Filed under: Knoxville TN Traffic News
