School Bus Crashes On Route 543: Two Collisions, Three Injured

BEL AIR, MD — Two drivers have been charged in connection with a pair of school bus crashes that occurred on MD 543 Wednesday morning in Harford County, according to Maryland State Police.

Three people were hospitalized from the collisions, which officials said occurred within 15 minutes and 0.8 mile of one another.

School bus driver Angela Harpster, 40, of Forest Hill, was charged with failing to stop at a red signal on MD 543 at Redfield Road, police said.

Harpster's school bus reportedly hit the side of a Chevrolet Cobalt turning left from Redfield Road onto MD 543 south. The Cobalt's driver — Artemis Howe, 30, of Forest Hill — was flown to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, according to police.

In that incident, emergency officials had been notified by callers that a vehicle was ablaze and its driver trapped on MD 543 near Redfield Road, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association. He said the fire was out when first responders arrived. Crews from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company worked for approximately 10 minutes to rescue the driver from the wreck before he could be flown for treatment, Gardiner said.

An 11-year-old girl was also injured, officials said, and she was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center. She was among seven students aboard the bus at the time of the crash. School officials told The Aegis that the students were on the way to Southampton Middle School, and the medevac landed at Fountain Green Elementary School.

Crews received the call about the Redfield Road school bus collision while they were on the scene of another crash involving a school bus. In that incident — on MD 543 at Hillside Drive — authorities said a passenger vehicle had rear-ended the bus and gotten wedged under it.

At 7:16 a.m., police said a Ford Explorer tried to move into the left turn lane and hit a Mitsubishi Lancer and as a result, the Explorer hit the back of a school bus.

A 15-year-old boy aboard the bus was injured and taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, according to authorities, who said there were 11 students on the bus in all. The Aegis reported that the bus had been on the way to Harford Technical High School.

According to police, the driver of the Explorer — Anita Page, 45, of Joppa — was charged with changing lanes when unsafe.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., ABC 2 News reported that MD 543 had reopened.

Main picture with article shows the crash on MD 543 at Redfield Road. Photo Credit: Mark Ensor, BAVFC.

PREVIOUS REPORT (Update: 8:55 a.m.) — Two crashes, each involving a school bus, were reported on MD 543 Wednesday morning. They were within 0.8 mile of one another.

A total of three people were hospitalized from the collisions, including one from each school bus, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association.

After a collision on MD 543 at Redfield Road, Gardiner said one person was taken to a to a regional trauma center; that person had been inside a passenger vehicle and was flown for treatment.

Callers had reported that a vehicle was on fire and its driver trapped on MD 543 near Redfield Road before 8 a.m., according to Gardiner, who said the fire was out when first responders arrived. It took approximately 10 minutes for crews from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company to rescue the driver, who was taken by helicopter to a regional trauma center, Gardiner said.

He said that one person on the bus was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Crews received the call about the crash near Redfield Road while they were on the scene of another crash involving a school bus. In that incident - on MD 543 at Hillside Drive - authorities said a passenger vehicle had rear-ended the bus and gotten wedged under it.

One student from the bus in the Hillside Drive collision had minor injuries and was being taken by ambulance to a local hospital, Gardiner said.

Drivers were advised to avoid the area.