DECATUR — A Decatur school bus, loaded with children, was involved in a three vehicle pile-up on Arkansas Highway 102 east of Decatur Monday morning.

Twenty school children were on the bus when the accident occurred, but none were transported to the hospital, according to Cpl. Jana Cordes, of the Arkansas State Police.

Decatur High School teacher Jeff McFarland, who was following the school bus in his car on his way to work, was transported by ambulance to the Ozarks Community Hospital in Gravette.

The bus had stopped in the westbound lane at the intersection of Highway 102 and Tilly Hill Road and was waiting for traffic to clear in order to make a left hand turn onto Tilly Hill Road when the accident occurred, Cordes said.

McFarland was stopped behind the bus when a white pickup truck driven by Jacob Bumgardner of Decatur hit McFarland’s vehicle from behind, knocking it into the bus, Cordes explained.

The 20 school childrenwere loaded onto other Decatur buses and taken on to school after they had been interviewed by police, said Sherman Robinson, the Decatur School District’s transportation director.

Robinson said that McFarland’s car bore the brunt of the damage from the accident. The Decatur school bus involved in the accident was not visibly damaged other than a few scratches, he said. It was taken to a mechanic to be inspected for safety before it is returned to service, he said.

Bumgardner received a citation for following too closely, Cordes said.

News, Pages 2 on 11/23/2011