Jeffersonville, IN (August 26, 2026) – At around 4:56 p.m. on August 26, a school bus carrying a middle school volleyball team was struck from behind on Interstate 265 west near State Road 62 and 10th Street, Indiana State Police said.
Sgt. Carey Huls, a spokesperson for Indiana State Police, said the bus was carrying North Harrison Middle School volleyball players on their way to a game in Charlestown.
According to the preliminary investigation, the bus was traveling slowly on the emergency shoulder when the driver, identified as 69-year-old Debra Barr, tried to make a U-turn using a crossover in the median, Huls said. The bus stopped during the turn, police said, and was hit from behind by a westbound car.
The car caught fire after the crash, but Huls said bystanders were able to put it out.
Two students on the bus were taken to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver of the car had minor injuries.
The driver of the bus was cited for an illegal U-turn, according to police. The crash remains under investigation.
This is a developing story. Details may change as the investigation continues.
School Bus Crash Claims in Jeffersonville, Indiana
A student riding a team bus is a passenger, and a passenger is almost never the one at fault. The harder questions in a school bus case are about which parties are on the hook and how fast the deadlines run.
Who may be responsible?
Depending on what the investigation shows, that can include the bus driver, the entity that employs the driver and operates the bus, the driver of the car, and whoever maintains the bus. More than one party can share fault in the same crash.
Why the identity of the bus operator matters so much?
If a public school corporation operates the bus, the Indiana Tort Claims Act applies, and it is unforgiving. A claim against a political subdivision requires written notice within 180 days under IC 34-13-3-8. Counting from August 26, 2026, that notice window closes on February 22, 2027. Claims against the State carry a 270-day notice requirement under IC 34-13-3-6. Missing that notice usually ends the claim permanently, no matter how strong the facts are.
Do the ordinary rules change because the injured passengers are children?
In some respects, yes. Indiana treats a minor’s claim differently from an adult’s, and the notice requirements for governmental defendants can interact with a child’s claim in ways that are easy to get wrong. This is worth a lawyer’s review early, not at the two-year mark.
What evidence should be preserved?
In a bus case, the material that decides the claim is largely in someone else’s hands:
- Onboard bus camera footage, which is frequently overwritten on a short cycle
- The Indiana State Police crash report and any reconstruction work
- The citation and its disposition
- The bus driver’s training file, route assignment, and hours
- The bus maintenance history and the operator’s transportation policies
- The car’s electronic data and photographs of the fire damage before the vehicle is disposed of
Indiana applies modified comparative fault under IC 34-51-2-6, and any recovery is reduced by a claimant’s own share of fault. Students riding as passengers had no part in how either vehicle was operated.
Most Indiana injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury under IC 34-11-2-4, which puts that deadline at August 26, 2028. The tort claims notice arrives roughly eighteen months before it.
Contact Our Indiana Bus Accident Attorneys
Getting told your daughter is at a children’s hospital in another city, when she left for a volleyball game two hours earlier, is a fear most parents never quite shake off afterward. The first priority is her recovery, and it should stay that way.
When you have room to think about it, our Indiana motor vehicle accident attorney team can look at who operated that bus and what deadlines that answer triggers. We have represented Indiana families in claims against public entities since 1980, and we know how quickly the notice window closes.
Bus camera footage is the single most useful piece of evidence in a case like this, and it is also the one most likely to be recorded over before anyone asks for it.
There is no charge to talk with us, and no fee at all unless we recover for your child.
Why Indiana families trust Langer & Langer:
- Founded in 1980, over 45 years serving Indiana families
- 100+ years of combined legal experience
- Recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, American College of Trial Lawyers
We Will Look After Your Family’s Case. Call 219-245-5881
Reach out when your child is home and settled, and we will walk you through the February notice deadline and what has to happen before it. You can read about founding attorney Steven L. Langer and the work our Indiana personal injury lawyer team does for Hoosier families.
