On Wednesday afternoon at approximately 3:30 p.m., a Claremont school bus was struck by a falling tree while traveling on Route 103 between Bradford and Newbury.  Fortunately, passengers sustained only minor injuries, though the tree caused significant damage to the bus. The Project Red and Blue—a youth leadership camp for incoming sixth graders organized and run by School Resource Officer (SRO) Crystal Simonds—was returning from a field trip in Goffstown. The full-size Claremont School District bus – yellow and fully marked – carried a total of eighteen occupants, including fourteen children aged 10 to 11. 

While traveling westbound on Route 103 near Village Road in Newbury, occupants of the school bus observed a large pine tree leaning near the westbound side of the roadway. Although the tree initially did not appear to be falling, it gave way as the vehicle approached. Claremont School Bus Driver Jesse Aiken had minimal time to react and accelerated the bus to clear the path of the falling tree. While passing the tree, it struck the rear of the bus, causing significant damage, particularly to the rear passenger side.

SRO Simonds promptly contacted emergency personnel and the parents of all children involved. Parents were requested to come to the scene, where they were briefed on the incident upon arrival and then reunited with their children. Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot also arrived on scene to assist with the parent-child reunification process. Additionally, the Claremont Bus Garage was notified and dispatched a second bus to transport the remaining children who were not able to be picked up directly by a parent.

Members of the district’s school nursing staff are reaching out to parents and guardians to follow up on each child’s condition and to ensure that medical needs are being met. Fortunately, there do not appear to have been any serious injuries.

“I want to commend bus driver Jesse Aiken for his decisive, quick actions, which significantly minimized the potential for harm to all of his passengers, “said Claremont Superintendent Tim Broadrick. “We are also grateful to SRO Simonds and Chief Wilmot for their quick, calm response and leadership.”