‘I plan to be back’: Lancaster County school bus driver recovers after serious wreck

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — A person has been charged with wrong-way driving after a crash involving a school bus left a beloved bus driver hurt at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The bus lost control in the Indian Land area of Lancaster County. Troopers said it barreled about 30 feet into some woods along Harrisburg Road after it was hit by two cars.

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Judy Carter, a well-known and longtime bus driver, had just finished her route and was the only person on the bus. She was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries. People from the other cars were also treated as well.

Carter’s collar bone and finger broke and she had cuts on her head because of the wreck. Carter said she will be OK.

“And I plan to be back,” she said two days after the crash. “And that’s for my kids, too. I plan to be back.”

Troopers said the preliminary reports showed that one of the cars crossed the center line, which caused the wreck.

She said she lost steering to the bus.

“There was nothing I could do except hold on and wait for the bus to stop,” Carter told Channel 9.

Carter said she is concerned how some people drive near buses, and the crash emphasizes the issue.

“We’ve got cars that will get in this lane and jerk in front of us,” she said. “But what if there had been kids on that bus? People not paying attention. These big yellow buses. How do you miss them? How do you miss seeing them unless you’re really not looking at the road? Period.”

She is grateful good Samaritans, including Jared Canup, came to help after the crash.

“He was fantastic,” Carter said. “I don’t know who he was.”

Community rallies for beloved bus driver, ‘Miss Judy’

Beloved school bus driver leaves hospital after ‘extremely violent wreck’

“This was an extremely violent wreck, and we are very fortunate that children were not on the bus, or this would have been even worse,” said Bryan Vaugn, director with the district’s Safety and Transportation Department.

According to the school district, Carter was released from the hospital on Thursday. Her family told Channel 9 that she has several broken bones and a long road to recovery.

A Facebook post about the accident had almost 1,000 comments from those who know and are concerned about “Miss Judy.” One parent said she wasn’t surprised by the community’s response.

“I think she doesn’t just look at this as just a job, they really are her kids. She knows all their names,” said Kysha Frazier.

“I would almost say she is a grandmotherly figure to a lot of the children there,” Vaughn said. “Just an excellent driver, very dependable and a hard worker. Everybody loves her.”

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