By Gavin Michaelson
La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
HOLMEN, Wis. — Several Holmen streets were barricaded Tuesday morning, blocking off a destroyed mailbox, a fallen telephone pole and a gaping hole in the front of one resident’s home.
The cause was a School District of Holmen school bus that crashed into a residence in Holmen injuring a resident at about 6:20 a.m. at 301 State St.
The school district said the bus was on a private route and empty, aside from its driver, when it crashed into the home.
After the crash, the injured resident was trapped inside the house and had to be rescued by first responders, according to Holmen Police Officer Aaron Hintz.
Once the resident was removed through a bedroom window, she was then transferred to the hospital by Tri-State Ambulance service.
The driver was not injured.
The crash surprised neighbors who gathered to watch emergency crews at the scene.
“We heard a loud bang … didn’t think nothing of it because a lot of farm equipment goes up and down,” said Roger Casberg , a neighbor. “But then I looked out to the red lights.”
He said he saw the woman who lived in the home being taken out on a gurney. According to Casberg, the room impacted by the crash was her bedroom.
Frank Smaby, a Holmen resident who lives a block away from the scene, watched as first responders cleaned up the area and removed the bus from the building.
“It’s a freaky thing. It’s a one in a million chance that would ever happen,” said Smaby. “That could have happened to anybody.”
The crash is still under investigation, and now that the bus has been removed, the Wisconsin State Patrol will inspect it.
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