Driver injured following school bus crash on Hwy 478

NATCHITOCHES PARISH, La. (KALB) - A school bus and a 2009 Mazda Tribute were involved in a crash on Monday (March 13) on Hwy 478, just west of I-49 south of Natchitoches.

According to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, multiple agencies arrived at the scene around 3:25 p.m., including NPSO, Louisiana State Police, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS, NPSO Rescue and Natchitoches Parish Fire District #5.

At least 36 students and the bus driver were onboard the school bus. The bus driver and students were assessed at the scene by EMS and released without transport. Natchitoches Parish School Superintendent Dr. Grant Eloi was notified. Some drivers stopped to help the students as well.

The sole occupant of a Mazda Tribute Compact SUV was trapped in the wreckage, suffering from injuries. An Air EVAC medical chopper was dispatched to the scene. It took rescue personnel over 20 minutes to extricate and free the man from the wreckage. He was airlifted to a Regional Trauma Center with what is believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

He was identified as a 48-year-old man from Flora, but his name is being withheld, pending an update on his injuries.

Louisiana State Police said the man was driving west on Hwy 478, west of I-49, when he drifted across the centerline, striking almost head-on with the eastbound 2019 Blue Bird School Bus. This caused the bus to leave the road on the left, travel through a ditch and hit a few trees before coming to a stop.

The crash investigation remains ongoing and active.