Quincy school bus, tour bus collide on icy roads in Grant County

UPDATE: The Grant County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the driver of a tour bus that collided with a Quincy school bus died from injuries he received in the crash.

There were 39 passengers on board the bus, along with a tour guide and the bus driver. Several people were hurt, however none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, according to a press release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

The injured and other passengers were taken to Quincy Valley Medical Center where they're being sheltered. The Quincy Public Market, Pink Oven Bakery, East Wenatchee Olive Garden, and several other businesses in the area have provided meals for the passengers.

Officials say there were 26 students on the school bus, all between the ages of 5 and 15, along with the bus driver. Several students had non-life-threatening injuries. All of the students were taken to Quincy Valley Medical Center for treatment, and all of the children have been reunited with their parents.

A passenger car was also involved in the collision. The driver was injured, but is expected to recover.

The names of the drivers, including the deceased driver, will be released at a later time.

According to the press release, Quincy Valley Medical Center mobilized its disaster response protocol, bringing in triple the usual staffing in order to manage the patient load.

"The Quincy community is no stranger to emergencies, and always steps up to help," said spokesperson Kyle Foreman in a written statement. "Similar to the Thanksgiving 2018 crash involving a bus carrying part of the University of Washington Marching Band, Quincy community members rallied and came to the aid of those in need of help."

Several public safety agencies also responded to the crash, including the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Quincy School District, Quincy Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Grant County Public Works, Grant County Fire Districts 3 and 5, Grant County Emergency Management, MACC Dispatch, and chaplains from Faith Community Church, Grant County Fire 3, and Quincy Police Department.

Previous: White Trail Road (Road U NW to Road 5 NW), was closed west of Quincy around 9:30 a.m. due to a serious crash involving a school bus and a tour bus.

Grant County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kyle Foreman says 20 students who were on the bus were taken to Quincy Hospital for evaluation or to be reunified with their parents.

“Any of the students who were on the bus who were injured have non-life threatening injuries and they’ll be re-unified with their parents. There were around 30 passengers on the tour bus and they were also loaded on to another bus and driven to Quincy Valley Hospital for evaluation. None of them have life threatening injuries either.”

A passenger car was also involved.

Foreman says they are still trying to get details on what happened.

“White Trail Road will be closed for several hours during the investigation and the recovery effort. We will have additional information later on and we’re asking everyone to follow the Grant County Sheriff’s Facebook page for continuing information.”

Foreman says while they don’t a clear cause of the accident yet, the area has been foggy and icy. The Quincy School District was on a two-hour delay Friday morning due to concerns about road conditions.

Drivers are being asked to use alternative routes until the road reopens.