School minibus crashes on Brentwood-Central Islip border, police say

No one was seriously injured in a crash involving a school minibus carrying seven children and a car Thursday morning, which forced the temporary closure of northbound Route 111 on the Brentwood-Central Islip border, Suffolk County police said.

The seven children, ages 5 and 6, were OK after the crash that occurred just before 11:20 a.m. at Locust Street, officials said. The original location was reported as West Willow Street. The road reopened at 1:25 p.m., police said.

The bus had turned on its side, and the driver and an adult on board were taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore with minor injuries, police said.

As a precautionary measure, the children were taken for evaluation to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip and Southside.

Islip Terrace firefighters, as well as five EMS ambulance companies, responded to the scene.

Photos from the scene showed the minibus overturned on the lawn of a home, with the car up against the side of the home.

Neither the bus nor the car appeared to have significant damage.

With Craig Schneider

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”