A wrong-way driver collided with a Johnston County school bus with 11 students on board. The collision happened at 2:48pm Monday on Highway 70 Business East at Interstate 95 in the Smithfield city limits.
Smithfield Police said a 2015 Mercedes Benz driven by Stanley Stafiej of Toms River, NJ turned onto the southbound on-ramp to I-95 but then made a u-turn and began traveling the wrong-way on the ramp. Stafiej then pulled into the path of a school bus traveling eastbound on Highway 70 Business. The driver of the bus, Kelly Fowler of Selma, told police she slammed on the brakes and tried to move left to avoid the collision but was unable to do so. Stafiej told police he was unsure of what happened, stating in an accident report he was looking for I-95 northbound.
Eleven students were on board the bus. None were injured. Both drivers also denied injury.
Stafiej was cited by police for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and failure to yield. Damage to the Mercedes was estimated at $6,000, The bus was not damaged.
