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A group of students began their trek from the Standish area to Susanville aboard a school bus, to enjoy a swim party at the pool. But along the way, their trip took a dangerous turn.
Bus driver David Leavins was in a hurry to get the students to town when he came upon Alfred Lound’s truck on the roadway north of Leavitt Lake. Lound was not in a hurry.
Leavins passed the slower vehicle but just as he overtook the truck, he had difficulty controlling the bus, which headed down toward the lefthand ditch. Leavins pulled hard to bring the bus back onto the road, but in doing so, the bus rolled over two times before coming to a stop in a tangled wreck.
The 28 students and two adult chaperones on the bus flew through the air, bouncing into seats and each other until the bus finally lost momentum and stopped tumbling. Broken glass was everywhere, and as the bus ceased to move, the sudden silence erupted into moans and cries and the voices of those offering help.
As the occupants of the bus crawled out, it was amazing to learn that no one was seriously hurt.
Mildred Zangger, age 15, was the most severely injured with deep cuts to her face and head, and she was taken to the hospital. Mildred was Alfred Lound’s niece.
Also injured were: Alvin Kinsey, Lassen High agricultural instructor, Eddie Zangger, Lound’s nephew, Ora Lee Grant, Jim Fraley, Kay Chadwick and Joyce, Ardene, and Mary Jane Tanner, who all had cuts and bruises. Keith Von Staden had a sprained ankle.
The bus, owned by Clyde Deal, who had a contract with the school district to supply busses, was a goner.
Once again, good fortune reigned in Lassen County. It could have been a terrible day.
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