Japanese Student Dies in Crash With School Bus

A teen-age Japanese girl on a cultural exchange visit was killed Friday, and another Japanese girl was badly hurt when a car driven by their host family’s daughter crashed into a school bus.

The young driver also was hurt when her car slammed underneath the back of the stopped school bus, officials said.

In addition, 21 of the 52 junior high students on the bus received minor injuries.

“We’re in shock,” said Bob Harman, principal of San Marcos High School, where the exchange students were visiting.

The families of the two girls from the town of Nakagawa, Japan, had been notified of the crash and were planning to fly to the United States, Harman said.

The dead girl, Kazuko Nakano, 17, was one of a group of eight students and one teacher for the monthlong exchange program in the San Diego suburb.

The group had arrived last week, and Tuesday had been the two Japanese girls’ first day at San Marcos High.

The other student, Yumi Higuchi, 17, was in critical condition at Sharp Memorial Hospital with massive head injuries. The car’s driver, Elizabeth Ann Brown, 17, a senior at San Marcos High, was in fair condition.

The dead girl was sitting in the rear right seat of the Honda Accord that crashed into the school bus, which was halted at a bus stop, authorities said.