Howard Co. school bus driver cited in accident where bus overturns

WASHINGTON — Howard County police found a school bus driver for Howard County Public Schools at fault in an Ellicott City, Maryland crash where a school bus overturned on U.S. 29 Monday morning.

Police issued a citation for negligent driving to Tyra India Wilcox, 50, of Halethorpe, Maryland.

Police say Wilcox was speeding when she lost control of Bus 507 in the crash that sent five people, including two Howard County Public School students, to hospitals with minor injuries.

“Two of our students were on the bus. No major injuries were reported, and both students were taken to Johns Hopkins Pediatrics for an evaluation,” writes Mount Hebron Principal Joelle A. Miller, in an email.

Miller said the parents of the children who were on Bus 507 have been notified. Howard County Police said that there were two students, both 15, and two adults on the bus.

The bus was headed to Mount Hebron High School when the accident occurred just before 6:55 a.m. on northbound U.S. 29 near Md. 100, shutting down U.S. 29 for two hours during the morning commute. Traffic was diverted onto Md. 100.

The bus the flipped on its side and was struck by a 2005 Toyota Matrix driven by Brad Steven Krakower, police said.

Wilcox and school bus aide Jessica Blank, 44, of Columbia were taken to Howard County General Hospital.

Krakower, 33, of Ellicott City also was taken to the same hospital.