A motorist was killed Friday in a collision in the Lancaster area that involved an SUV and a school bus with no children aboard, authorities said.
Deputies were sent to Avenue M near 15th Street West about 7 a.m. on a call regarding a traffic crash, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster Station.
“The call indicated a school bus and a gray SUV were involved in a crash,” a sheriff’s department statement said.
“Responding deputies arrived at the scene and contacted the bus driver, who informed them that no students or children were on the bus at the time of the crash,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, the driver of the SUV succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Information on identity of the fatally injured person was not immediately available.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that the SUV driver was traveling eastbound on Avenue M as the school bus was traveling westbound. For unknown reasons, the driver of the SUV veered into oncoming lanes of traffic and struck the bus nearly head-on,” the statement said. “It is unknown if alcohol, drugs, or speed played a factor in this crash.”
Anyone with information regarding the crash was urged to contact traffic investigators at the Lancaster Sheriffs Station by calling 661-948-8466.