A Hamilton County Schools bus was involved in a minor accident on Hixson Pike Tuesday afternoon, according to district spokesman Tim Hensley.
Bus 16 was transporting 25 students form Soddy-Daisy Middle and High schools when the accident occurred at 11206 Hixson Pike.
A lifted truck, altered to be higher than normal, passed the bus, Hensley said. A side mirror on the truck clipped the side mirror on the bus, breaking the mirror. Initially no injuries were reported, but one student suffered a small abrasion on the car from a piece of the glass mirror coming through the open window of the bus and striking the student, according to Hensley.
Law enforcement and school district personnel responded to the accident and students were transferred to another bus to be taken home, Hensley said.
The bus involved is an independently-operated and contractor-owned bus, one of about 70 that the district operates along with its contract with transportation provider First Student Inc.
Hamilton County Schools has reported several accidents involving school buses since students returned to class on Aug. 7.
The most serious incident occurred last Friday, Aug. 23 when 13 students from Brown Middle School and Central High School were taken to the hospital after a school bus crash on Villagewood Drive in the River Oaks neighborhood.
That bus, 331, was carrying a total of 50 students from the Brown Middle and Central High schools.
District officials and representatives from First Student Inc. met Monday to discuss the Aug. 13 crash, which involved a First Student bus, Hensley said.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the crash, but has not yet released the accident report, Hensley said.
Hensley added that "all indications so far point to that the driver was not at fault" in that accident.
"We haven't had a situation with an accident when other cars were involved where it was a bus that was at fault this year," Hensley told the Times Free Press.
Other incidents so far this year have also included a car rear-ending a school bus last week and a bus on Signal Mountain striking a power pole at 1422 East Brow Road on Aug. 16 - the second such incident reported this year.
This school year marks the first year of the district's new transportation contract with First Student Inc.
The school board approved a contract with First Student in April, finally severing its continuous relationship with Durham School Services.
The district contracts with about 70 independent bus drivers in addition to its agreement with First Student.
This is a developing story. Check back with the Times Free Press for updates.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757- 6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.