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Unread 11-01-2010, 12:04
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Re: Bus accident?

HARTFORD — - Teacher Richard Sams and his team of 16 students from the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science were excited as their school bus headed along I-84 toward a robotics competition Saturday about 8 a.m.

The Pirates of Pythagorean, as the team members dubbed themselves, were going to Farmington High School to watch a live feed from NASA describing a major robotics competition.

They had nearly reached the West Hartford line when they heard a loud thud.

"The driver couldn't regain control of the bus. We went over the guardrail and we were airborne. It happened just as quickly as that," said Sams, the team adviser.

"Kids were getting thrown all around the bus. I was thrown from one side to the other onto the floor," Sams said. He spoke from his East Haddam home Sunday, recovering from broken ribs, sprained ankles and the knee surgery he had earlier that day at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

• Leave your condolences in our guest book for Vikas Parikh
• Poll: Seat Belts On School Buses
• Pictures: Fatal School Bus Crash On I-84
• Video: Fatal Bus Crash Update

After the collision with a Volvo station wagon, the school bus plowed through the guardrail between exits 45 and 46 and plunged down an embankment, stopping 20 feet below, according to the police report. The students were sent to four area hospitals, according to the police report, which also said there had been a fatality.

Later Saturday, friends and families of the students identified the victim as Vikas Parikh, a promising student from Rocky Hill. Most of the other students were treated and released, although at least one remained hospitalized Sunday.

Students streamed Sunday to the close-knit magnet school for grief counseling and an impromptu memorial gathering to try to comprehend what had happened and to remember their friend. Meanwhile, at least one legislator — state Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill — vowed to introduce legislation in the coming legislative session that would require that seat belts be installed on school buses.

Police have identified the driver of the Volvo wagon as Christopher Toppi, 16, of 38 Balsam Landing in Glastonbury. Toppi was taken to Hartford Hospital and released Saturday. He could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Police were still investigating the accident, and no charges had been filed.

Adam Santos, a student on the robotics team, remained hospitalized at St. Francis on Sunday with fractured bones. He "felt a bunch of bumps and, all of sudden, went flying," his father, Arthur Santos, said Sunday afternoon. "He got thrown from one seat to three seats in front," said the father. "He was one of the lucky ones."

Classmates remembered Parikh as a confident, friendly student who was kind to others and had a bright future. The youngest of three, he attended Rocky Hill High School in the morning and left for the magnet school at midday for more intensive scientific instruction. The magnet school, which attracts students from 30 suburbs in the region, is one of four schools that make up the Learning Corridor near Trinity College.

Sams, the teacher on the bus, said Sunday he thought that seat belts would have helped minimize injuries in the crash.

"Obviously it would have helped to keep students from flying across the bus," Sams said.

Terry Schmitt, a member of the board of directors for the Capitol Region Education Council that runs the magnet school, called Sunday for a prompt review of transportation policies. Schmitt, also chairman of the West Hartford Board of Education, said the looming question is whether there is a need to require all school buses to be equipped with seat belts.

"It's not an easy question to answer, but those kids that were hurt got thrown all over the place," Schmitt said.

In addition to Parikh, Sams, Santos and Toppi, information was available on only the following people involved in Saturday's collision:

•Bus driver Paul Burns, 44, of Hartford, was treated at Hartford Hospital and released Saturday.

•Russell Weeks, 14, of Portland, was discharged Saturday from the University of Connecticut Medical Center.

•Inol Santana, 17, of Hartford, was released Sunday from St. Francis.

•Jack Giesselman, 18, of Canton, was released Saturday from Hartford Hospital.

•Sameer Laul, 16, of Rocky Hill, was released Saturday from Hartford Hospital.

•Cody Harris, 17, of Rocky Hill, was released Saturday from Hartford Hospital.

•Justin Rutty, 17, of Wethersfield, was released Saturday from St. Francis
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