Students Get Back on Road to Recovery : Trauma: The CHP and Knott’s Berry Farm help survivors of deadly trash truck accident get over their fears with a trip to the amusement park.

The children who survived the recent crash of a Los Angeles school bus and a malfunctioning trash track are naturally leery of buses now. But the trip they took Tuesday morning helped them overcome those fears, at least for a day.

With California Highway Patrol officers huddled around them, they boarded two school buses and headed for Knott’s Berry Farm.

The mission of the officers, who were happy to turn on their flashing lights, was to escort about 40 children either involved in the crash or close to those who were, and their families, for the 45-minute ride to the amusement park.

The police escort distracted the children--many of whom still worry about riding the bus--and helped them feel safe, parents said. Most of the children from the Glen Alta Elementary School in northeastern Los Angeles still vividly recall the Dec. 6 accident in which a powerful hydraulic piston burst through the side of a city trash truck and raked their bus. Two 8-year-old boys died and several children were injured.

But the day at Knott’s Berry Farm--organized by the amusement park and the CHP--sought to push the nightmare aside.

The children were greeted by costumed characters as they stepped off the bus.

“I got a hug from Snoopy,” said a grinning Brian Pleytez, 6, one of the accident survivors. “He’s my favorite.”

Images of broken glass, injured classmates and tearful memorials seemed far removed for the children. They raced from one game to the other, riding miniature fire engines and directing small remote-controlled boats or trying other rides in the park.

Parents and siblings of the children, some of whom had never been to an amusement park before, sported gold CHP badge decals on their coats as they tried to keep up with the youngsters.

“He’s having a very good time,” said Xavier Nunez of his 8-year-old son, Samuel. “He’s going crazy now.”

The Nunez family considered itself lucky after the crash. Samuel’s mother, Maggie, had a meeting at the school that day and had decided to drive her son instead of putting him on the bus. They avoided the trauma of the crash, but still had to cope with the death of two of Samuel’s classmates, Francisco Mata and Brian Serrano.

“He was kind of nervous about the bus, but he’s better now,” said Samuel’s father, Xavier Nunez. “This was a good solution. . . . I think God let this happen so parents will know that what is important is their kids.”

Cynthia Terrazas, an 8-year-old survivor of the accident, dressed up in a fancy plaid ruffled dress and matching cap for the trip. “We’re just playing,” she said with a smile after hopping off a ride in Camp Snoopy.

Of the crash, what she remembers most of all is that two friends died. “I was scared,” she said, momentarily downcast but then smiling again as she skipped off to join her mother for a snack.

The father of 7-year-old Ricardo Rivera Jr. said the boy had trouble sleeping Monday night--not because of nightmares of the crash but because of the excitement of his first trip to Knott’s Berry Farm.

“He was a little bit worried about taking the bus, but it’s just in his mind,” Rivera said. “I think they don’t want to be reminded . . . of the accident. Everything is good now. Everything is OK.”