5 injured in Thermal crash involving school bus

Five people, including a student, were hurt Tuesday morning when a car struck a school bus in Thermal, but all of the injuries were described as minor. The crash was reported at 6:27 a.m. at the intersection of 60th Avenue and Polk Street.

Jose Meza, 45, of Mecca, was headed west on 60th Avenue and failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Radford. Meza’s 1997 Nissan Altima struck the left front side of the Coachella Valley Unified School District bus that was southbound on Polk Street, Radford said.

Meza and the bus driver sustained minor injuries, as did three other bus passengers, one of whom was a student, Radford said. Four of the patients were taken to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio and one was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

The CHP did not disclose the destination of the school bus, or the ages of the injured bus passengers.