LG Bus Slides Off Highway On First Morning of Class

By ANDY BEHLEN The school year got off to a bumpy start for a La Grange ISD bus driver and a few students on Monday morning, August 22.

According to a report from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, an LGISD school bus was heading west on SH 71 near Morgan Road west of La Grange when it slid off the road and into the median.

Sgt. Charles Jobb of the Sheriff’s Office said the road was slick from rain at the time. The bus was carrying four students to special classes in Smithville, along with the driver and an aide.

Assistant superintendent Neal Miller, who heads up transportation at LGISD, said the driver reported that the bus was in the right lane when the rear wheels lost traction. The rear of the bus began sliding to the left, he said, so the driver steered the bus into the median to avoid a rollover.

“The driver did a good job of keeping the bus on its wheels,” Jobb said. 

The bus got stuck in the mud and required a tow to get out. 

Fayette County EMS personnel examined the passengers and driver, but there were no injuries. Jobb said La Grange ISD sent another bus. The students were transferred onto it and arrived in Smithville a little late to class.

Miller said the bus did not appear to be damaged. 

As a precaution, he said the bus was being inspected to make sure there were no mechanical issues that may have contributed to the incident.

TxDOT Approves Funding for 71 Resurfacing

Texas Department of Transportation announced in July that the agency approved $1.78 million in funding to resurface a section of TX-71 in Fayette County. According to TxDOT spokesperson Cari Hensley, the resurfacing will be from the Business 71 exit at the west end of La Grange to Prairie Valley Road. Hensley said TX-71 is the second-most traveled highway in Fayette County with 11,000 vehicles passing through per day. Only Interstate 10 in southern Fayette County has more traffic.