Stutsman County, ND — May 3, 2025, five people were injured in a bus accident at about 4:50 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 94.
Authorities said a school bus veered across the median near mile marker 233 after it blew a tire. It crossed the westbound lanes and crashed through a fence on the north side of the highway east of Medina.
Five people on the bus were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to authorities. The bus was transporting 21 students from Hankinson High School.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Stutsman County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people think about school bus safety, they usually focus on seat belts, driver behavior or traffic around the bus, but one of the most overlooked hazards is the condition of the bus itself. This crash in Stutsman County is a clear example of what can happen when something as basic as a tire fails. Reports say the tire blowout caused the bus to veer across the median, cross opposing traffic and crash through a fence. That’s a terrifying chain of events, and while it’s fortunate that only minor injuries were reported, things could have gone much worse.
From a legal standpoint, a crash caused by a tire blowout raises important questions about maintenance and inspections. School buses, like all commercial vehicles, are required to undergo regular safety checks. Tires must be in good condition: properly inflated, free of damage and not excessively worn. If a tire blows out while the bus is on the road, one of the first questions investigators need to answer is whether it was properly maintained in the first place.
That responsibility doesn’t fall solely on the driver. The school district or the company responsible for operating the bus fleet plays a major role in making sure each vehicle is roadworthy. That includes keeping detailed maintenance records, performing pre-trip inspections and replacing parts before they fail. If any of that was skipped or rushed, there may be grounds for a finding of negligence.
There’s also a duty to investigate the tire itself. Was it defective? Was it the right kind of tire for that bus? Was it damaged before the trip began? These are technical questions, but they matter. When the safety of two dozen students is on the line, cutting corners or missing small warning signs isn’t just careless. It’s legally significant.
This crash might appear to be a mechanical issue, but in my experience, most mechanical issues turn out to be human failures in disguise: missed inspections, poor oversight or bad decisions made long before the crash ever occurred. That’s why these cases require a thorough investigation beyond the scene of the accident. The facts will ultimately show whether this was an unavoidable mishap or a preventable failure. Either way, it’s a reminder that keeping school buses safe starts long before they hit the road.
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