COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 21-year-old woman walking along a busy downtown sidewalk was killed and four other people, including another pedestrian, were hurt Friday morning when a pickup slammed into the side of a school bus with enough force to drive it onto the sidewalk.
Stephanie Fibelkorn and William Lewis were walking southbound on the west side of High Street, at the intersection with Broad Street at 10:09 am. when Terrance Trent ran a red light while driving westbound on E. Broad Street in a red Chevy pickup and struck a Groveport-Madison Local Schools bus carrying four students, which was driving southbound on High Street, Columbus police accident investigators said.
AUDIO: Hear 911 call from scene below
Both vehicles veered to the southwest corner of the intersection, where pedestrians Fibelkorn and Lewis were run over by the bus, police said.
Fibelkorn, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lewis, 58, was taken to Grant Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
The bus driver, 48-year-old Brenda Detty, was taken to Grant in stable condition. The four students on the bus, which school district officials said is used to transport students to work-study programs, were not injured.
Trent, 61, and a passenger in the pickup, which was partially lodged under the bus, had to be extricated from the wreckage, said Division of Fire assistant public information officer Lee Cole. Police said Trent was listed in stable condition at Mt. Carmel West Hospital. The passenger, 51-year-old Mamie Adams, was transported to Grant in stable condition.
The accident remained under investigation early Saturday morning and no charges had been filed.
Witnesses told local television stations that Trent appeared to be driving at a high rate of speed and with one flat tire at the time of the crash.
The intersection of Broad and High streets was closed for about six hours during the cleanup and investigation.