Few hurt as YMCA bus rolls on I-280 on-ramp

By Jason Baker

The bus carrying children from the Southwest YMCA that crashed on Interstate 280 on July 13 left 12 children and three adults bruised and shaken, but relatively unscathed, according to official reports.

In fact, YMCA of the Santa Clara Valley spokeswoman Bernice Alaniz said at least seven of the children had returned to the day-camp program the following day.

"It was a scary thing, but things could have been a lot worse," Alaniz said.

Campers aged 8 to 12, including kids from Saratoga, were on a day-camp outing when their bus rolled on its side on the freeway onramp at Saratoga Avenue in San Jose.

YMCA officials could not say how many of the children were from Saratoga. The Southwest YMCA is located on Quito Road.

The driver, Mary Cristina Ruiz, apparently lost control of the bus at about 12:40 p.m., according to California Highway Patrol officials. The accident on the ramp to north Interstate 280 slowed freeway traffic for more than two hours.

The campers suffered only minor injuries, as did the chaperones traveling with the group. Bus driver Ruiz remained under observation at Stanford University Hospital as of July 14.

The children were participating in a weeklong roller-hockey day camp sponsored by the Southwest YMCA and had just left the Skateworld roller rink in Santa Clara. The bus, chartered from Laidlaw Transit Inc. of Walnut Creek, was headed for a park in Sunnyvale for afternoon recreation.

Alaniz said YMCA officials have contacted parents of children involved in the facility's programs to assure them the accident was an isolated incident.

"Safety is something we consider during every second of the Y's programs," she said. "We have contacted parents to reassure them of the record of the bus company and to let them know that this is not something that happens every day."

When the bus crashed, it rolled onto its left side against an embankment on the side of the onramp. No other vehicles were involved, and CHP officers determined that the accident was not alcohol- or drug-related.

Ruiz has worked for Laidlaw as a regular school-year bus driver for several years. She also has driven buses for the YMCA day program for several years, Alaniz said.

Laidlaw is one of the largest school-bus leasing programs in Northern California. Six San Jose-area YMCA branches that run day camps use Laidlaw buses.

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