STEUBEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – A Metropolitan School District of Steuben County school bus driver has been ticketed for using a cellphone when driving after the bus overturned with a student on board Tuesday.
Driver Jannie Hammond and student Makenna Warner were able to safely exit the bus and were taken to a hospital for treatment. Hammond had been distracted by her cellphone before she drifted over the edge of the road and it overturned. The crash happened in Otsego Township in the 5500 block of South County Road 300 East.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office released the following:
On 04/06/2026 just after 9:30 am, Steuben County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 5500 block of South CR 300 E in rural Otsego Township for a reported vehicle crash involving a school bus. Initial 911 reports indicated that the school bus had overturned and it was unknown if any children were on the bus. When initial responding deputies arrived, they located a Metropolitan School District of Steuben County school bus on its side off of the west side of CR 300 E.
It was quickly determined that the bus had been occupied by the driver and only one student. Both occupants were able to safely evacuate the school bus. Preliminary crash investigation indicated that the yellow 2025 Freightliner school bus driven by 71-year-old Jennie Hammond of rural Angola, IN was traveling southbound on CR 300 E from CR 500 S when the bus drifted off of the side of the roadway causing the right-side tires to drop off of the paved portion of the roadway. The bus then overturned onto its right side due to a ditch running along the roadside.
A review of the bus’s surveillance cameras showed that Hammond appeared to have been momentarily distracted by a cellular phone which contributed to the bus drifting over to the edge of the roadway. Both Hammond and the passenger 19-year-old Makenna Warner of Angola, IN suffered pain as a result of the crash and were transported to Cameron Hospital for treatment by Steuben County EMS.
The weather was clear and roadway dry at the time of the crash. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor. Seatbelts were in use and effective for the driver. The passenger was not restrained. Hammond was issued a citation for using a telecommunications device while operating a moving motor vehicle. Assisting the Sheriff’s Office at the scene were Hamilton Fire Rescue, Steuben County EMS, Indiana State Police, MSD of Steuben County, and the Hamilton Town Marshal’s Office.
Comments