Smithville school bus driver cited for careless driving in rollover incident

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A 40-year-old woman was issued a traffic citation for careless and imprudent driving after a school bus rollover sent her and two students to the hospital.

Alissa Batliner, a driver for DS Bus Lines, was distracted due to trying open “a bag of snacks” at the time of the crash. On the morning of Sept. 12, she “went off the roadway and then overcorrected, resulting in the bus ending up on its side.”

The school bus overturned in Clay County near Mount Olivet Road and NE 120th Street, blocking both lanes of traffic. First responders and Good Samaritans helped 30 students get off the bus.

Two children and Batliner were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, and they were treated and released that afternoon. The Smithville elementary school students on the bus ranged in age from 5 to 12, police said.