DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — A crash involving a Uwharrie Charter Academy shut down Highway 109 north near Mt. Zion Church Road in Davidson County Tuesday morning.
The crash was reported around 7:30 a.m. near Denton. Uwharrie Charter Academy Superintendent Dr. Sharon Castelli said the bus had just left its first stop and was on its way to the second stop. Highway Patrol said the driver of the car, Charles Thompson, sideswiped the school bus and flipped it over.
Thompson was taken to Thomasville Medical Center with serious injuries.
Castelli said seven students were on board with two staff members, a driver, and a monitor at the time of the crash. The monitor was taken to a hospital the be checked out because he’s "shaken up," and two children were being checked out at a hospital as a precaution, Castelli said. Other children went home with their families.
Castelli credits the bus driver for an "exceptional job’" getting children off the bus safely. She said she appreciates Davidson County Schools and its transportation director for supporting students until Uwharrie representatives arrived.
Thompson is charged with traveling left of center and received citations for unsafe tires.
The road was reopened around 9:30 a.m.