Six people were injured Wednesday morning when a school bus and two cars collided. It happened at 7:40am on Buffalo Road at Holland Drive near Smithfield Middle School.
Smithfield Police said the school bus had stopped to allow students to board. A car, operated by Chetan Dilip Kapat, 35, of Raleigh, had stopped about 15 feet behind the bus. That’s when a third vehicle, driven by Jaime Pollard Martinez, 35, of Furlong Drive, Smithfield failed to stop, striking the back of Kapat’s Honda, pushing it into under the rear of the school bus about 3 feet, police said.
The driver of the school bus, Lourdes Xiomara Cabrera, 52, of Carissa Drive, Smithfield received minor injuries, along with Kapat, the driver of the Honda. They were transported to the hospital by ambulance along with Martinez and three passengers in her Chrysler.
Martinez was cited by police with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. She reportedly told police she was traveling between 30 and 40 mph when she looked down. When she looked back up she said she didn’t have time to stop before rear ending the Honda.
Damage to the Chrysler was placed at $8,000, damage to the Honda at $15,000 and damage to the school bus at $20.
