Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009

Georgetown bus driver placed on leave after crash injuries eight students

A Georgetown County school bus driver was placed on administrative leave Wednesday, one day after she crashed a bus into the back of a sport utility vehicle, school officials confirmed.

Karla Kaedasbeamenderfer, 44, of Andrews, was charged with driving too fast for conditions, said Cpl. Paul Brouthers with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

All eight children on the bus were treated and released from an area hospital on Tuesday night, said Ray White, spokesman from Georgetown County Schools.

School officials will conduct an investigation into Kaedasbeamenderfer's role in the crash, White said.

Brouthers said a 17-year-old woman was waiting in a 2001 Ford SUV to make a left turn onto S.C. 41 when the school bus struck her from behind. The woman was not injured in the 3:20 p.m. crash.

Kaedasbeamenderfer was taken to the hospital, but her condition was not known Wednesday.