LAKE STEVENS — Police are investigating whether a 22-year-old man was on drugs last month when he slammed a sport utility vehicle into a Lake Stevens school bus.
Lake Stevens police are waiting for results of toxicology tests sent to the crime state lab, Sgt. Julie Jamison said Monday.
“We haven’t ruled out impairment as a contributing factor,” she said.
The collision was reported just after 6:30 a.m. Feb. 18 in the 10900 block of S. Lake Stevens Road.
A black 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe reportedly veered into oncoming traffic and struck the school bus head-on, according to a search warrant filed recently in Everett District Court. Roughly three feet of the SUV’s front end ended up underneath the bus.
A passenger in the SUV, a 28-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, and was flown from a local hospital where she received initial treatment to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The bus driver suffered minor injuries, according to the warrant. Two 14-year-old boys, both eighth-graders at Cavelero Mid-High School, were on board at the time. One suffered a broken jaw and could require lengthy medical care. The other suffered minor injuries.
School officials summoned the boys’ families to the scene. Their parents were able to board the bus while the boys were being treated by medics.
Investigators served a search warrant to collect a blood sample from the driver. He allegedly told officers he had smoked marijuana sometime before the crash.
The warrant on the SUV reportedly turned up meth, multiple glass pipes, multiple kinds of prescription drugs, a scale and more than 80 small plastic bags. Police also downloaded information from the vehicle’s “black box” and had a mechanical inspection conducted.
The Herald is not naming the driver because he has not been charged with a crime. He was not seriously hurt in the crash.
The SUV is registered to a Lake Stevens address. The school district plans an internal review of the collision as well.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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