PPISD van, truck collide on 377

A van carrying special needs students in the Pilot Point ISD school-to-work program was involved in a wreck Wednesday morning close to the 11000 block of U.S. 377 South, near Stanley Ford.

There were no injuries, said Bryan Cox, the Pilot Point assistant fire chief.

A van from AM Communications appeared to collide with the PPISD van from behind. Pilot Point High School Principal Todd Southard and PPISD Superintendent Dan R. Gist were at the scene. Pilot Point police officer Preston Green said the AM Communications van rear-ended the school district vehicle as it waited for the red light. No citation was given.

Two students from the high school were in the van, and they were going to a job worksite when the wreck occurred, Gist said.

“Paramedics checked them, and [neither] the driver nor the kids were injured,” Gist said.

The students were taken back to the school where they could be observed, just as a precautionary measure, Gist said.

The AM Communications vehicle sustained substantial damage. The PPISD van appeared to have only bumper damage, Gist said, but it will have to be evaluated.

Part of the district’s protocol is to test drivers for impairment when they are involved in accidents.

“I have absolutely no suspicion of our driver at all,” Gist said.