A motorist struck a school bus head-on and was killed in a fiery crash Friday morning in southeastern Minnesota, authorities said.
The driver, 27-year-old Travis M. Jacobson of Winona, was heading north on Hwy. 61 around 5:50 a.m. in Wabasha County, a mile north of Minneiska, when his minivan veered into the southbound lane and the oncoming bus, which had no children aboard at the time. Both vehicles caught fire after impact.
The 59-year-old bus driver, Vernon Andrews, of Ellsworth, Wis., was transported to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester with serious injuries. Jacobson died at the scene, the patrol said.
The northbound lanes of Hwy. 61 reopened around 9 a.m., but southbound lanes remain closed for more than four hours for crash reconstruction and cleanup.
Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash.
Liz Sawyer
