The State - News from April 22, 1988

A school bus flipped on its side near the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove, inflicting minor injuries on 19 elementary and junior high school students and the driver, authorities said. The passengers, ages 6 to 13, were transported to area hospitals for treatment and observation, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Simpson said. The driver, Jonquic Ann Froyd, 40, was unavailable for comment. The CHP is uncertain what caused the accident on a rural road. Witnesses said the bus was accelerating at about 15 m.p.h. when it drifted to the left, swerved to the right, hit the soft shoulder of the road and toppled on its side with its front in a muddy ditch. The rear of the bus blocked the two-lane road. The driver “may have overcompensated,” Simpson said. Officers were inspecting the bus for signs of mechanical malfunction.