WATERVILLE — Sun glare caused the driver of a box truck to crash into a school bus Tuesday morning, stalling traffic for an hour and causing some injuries, police said.
Some children on the bus complained of pain, police said, but none had a serious injury or was taken to the hospital.
Dawson Trask, 18, of Clinton, was driving a box truck registered to Sherwood Booker, who owns Brown House Properties, toward Elm Street on Western Avenue when sun glare severely limited the visibility in the area, according to Deputy Chief Bill Bonney.
About 8 a.m., Trask came upon a Waterville area school bus near Queens Way carrying 13 children, ages 5 to 9, that was stopped and loading more students. Ann Lefebvre, 54, of Waterville, was driving the bus.
“Trask didn’t see the bus because of the sun glare,” Bonney said, adding that police don’t believe speed was a factor. “When officers arrived, the sun was still glaring and it made visibility very difficult.”
Trask crashed into the back of the bus, severely damaging the front end of his vehicle and breaking in the windows of the emergency door on the back of the bus.
Police stopped traffic on both sides of the road for about an hour as they dealt with the crash.
Trask was taken to a local hospital for a cut on his leg that he suffered when the front end of his truck was pushed in, Bonney said.
The box truck, extensively damaged by the impact, was towed away.
Police did not plan to file any charges, Bonney said.
Bonney said people should use additional caution when faced with sun glare.
“If you can’t see where you’re going on the road, you have to slow down and take precautions, just like you would take if it was foggy,” he said.
Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239
mstamour@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @madelinestamour
Send questions/comments to the editors.
