10 children, driver rescued by boat in Frederick Co. after school bus trapped in flood waters

Ten children and a driver were rescued from a school bus that was caught in rising flood waters in Frederick County, Maryland on Wednesday afternoon.

Todd Wivell, spokesman for Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, told WTOP that the school bus became trapped in flood waters around 4:30 p.m. on Hessong Bridge Road at Black Mills Road.

“We had a school bus try to cross a bridge that had water going across it; the school bus got stuck,” Wivell said.

All 10 children and the driver were rescued from the bus by boat, with the help of first responders from the sheriff’s office and the Frederick County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Wivell warned that the rain is still falling, and that the water will continue to rise in that area. Even just 6 inches of moving water would be enough to knock a person off their feet, Wivell said.

Frederick County Public Schools recalled all school buses that were in the process of dropping students off. Parents were asked to pick their kids up from school buildings.

The entire region is under a flash flood watch as the remnants of Hurricane Ida move through the area. Frederick County is under a flood warning until 7:30 p.m.

Below is a map of where the incident happened:

WTOP’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.


More storm coverage: 

Zeke Hartner

Zeke Hartner is a digital writer/editor who has been with WTOP since 2017. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University’s Political Science program and an avid news junkie.

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