A car rear-ended a Lame Deer Public Schools bus carrying 17 children on Tuesday morning after failing to stop for the bus's extended stop arm.
The crash happened on Highway 212 near mile marker 45 while the bus was heading from Ashland to Lame Deer.
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A bus monitor and the driver were also on board.
No one on the bus was seriously injured, and it's unknown about the injuries to the three people in the car, according to Terry Spanger, Jr., Lame Deer Public Schools transportation director.
Spanger said drivers ignoring school bus stop signs is a common occurrence.
"A driver that didn't stop for a stopped school bus while the extended stop arm was out," Spanger said.
"Really sets my nerves there for. For buses going by and concerning children's safety," Spanger said.
The incident marks the second or third crash involving a school bus in the area within the last two weeks.
Bus driver Al Holds the Enemy said his bus was T-boned last week.
"That's my bus. That happened last Wednesday," Holds the Enemy said, pointing to the damage.
Holds the Enemy noted that many drivers are not careful enough around school buses.
"It's kind of frustrating. And people disregard their safety, plus the kids that are on the bus," Holds the Enemy said.
Highway 212 is known to be treacherous between Lame Deer and Ashland, due to numerous bus pullouts and residential driveways, creating a danger for all drivers.
Rosebud County Commissioner Ed Joiner, who lives near the site of Tuesday's crash, highlighted the road's unique challenges.
"There's about twice as many turnoffs just within the Northern Cheyenne Reservation as there is the whole rest of the highway," Joiner said.
Joiner said county commissioners have tried to secure more law enforcement patrols for Highway 212 and Highway 39, but officials have not yet reached any agreements.
"We want to do something to help with the problem. It's just not ever going to get any better," Joiner said.
To mitigate the dangers, the transportation department and bus drivers take extra precautions to ensure student safety.
"We stress that they stay put until we call them over. Before we can really have a hand out the window to call them all to come across and in order for them to when they get out before we open the doors, we make sure all the traffic stopped," said Gilbert Brady, bus driver.
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