Girl killed in North Carolina collision

MAXTON, N.C. -- A tractor-trailer slammed into a stopped school bus Tuesday, killing a 5-year-old girl who was boarding, and injuring the girl's mother and more than a dozen other students, officials said.\nAbout 20 to 25 children were aboard the bus, which was bound for Townsend Middle School and R.B. Dean Elementary School, said Henry Byrd, assistant superintendent of Robeson County schools.\nCharges were pending against the driver of the truck, which was hauling chickens and registered to Mountaire Farms Inc. of Selbyville, Del., Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Everett Clendenin said.\nHe said a trooper at the scene "said the truck hit the bus square in the back." Clendenin identified the driver of the truck as Gary K. Garnett, 38, of Hope Mills.\nRobeson County Schools spokesman Al Kahn identified the dead girl as Sheila Hernandez, a student in a pre-kindergarten program.\nClendenin said after ramming the bus, the truck hit Sheila's mother, who was standing nearby watching her daughter board the bus.\nThe impact propelled the bus more than 400 feet and into the yards of residents.\nThe mother, Marie Hernandez, was in critical condition at Scotland Memorial Hospital in Laurinburg, Kahn said. About 15 other children suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospitals, and the truck driver was also taken to a hospital.\nThe crash happened shortly after 7 a.m. on a two-lane highway less than 2 miles north of Maxton, located in southeastern North Carolina, near the South Carolina line.\nAlso Tuesday, nine elementary school students were injured in another collision in Okahumpka, Fla., when a tractor-trailer clipped the rear end of their school bus. The truck's driver was cited for failing to yield the right of way.\nIn northeastern Oklahoma, at least one high school student was killed and five others injured when their sports utility vehicle collided with a school bus, officials said.\nAnd in Bloomfield Township, Mich., an Amtrak passenger train collided with a school bus that was occupied only by the driver, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment.\nNo one on the train was injured, police Capt. Kirt Bowden said. Investigators were at the scene trying to determine the cause of the collision.