Six youths were transported to Nemaha County Hospital Monday afternoon, Feb. 20. They sustained possible injuries in a school bus-pickup collision on Highway 136 one-quarter of a mile east of Auburn.

Molly Girard, Morgan Jones, Timby Towne, Alex Watlington, Danielle Lewis and Raylan Boellstorff were transported by Auburn Rescue Squad members. Boellstorff is from Auburn. Jones and Towne are from Peru. The addresses of the others were unavailable.
Nemaha County Sheriff’s officers said that at 3:45 p.m. Feb. 20, a 2005 bus driven by Laurence D. Ranch, Auburn, was stopped at the railroad crossing. The bus, owned by Auburn Public Schools, was stopped at the railroad crossing. A 1998 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Taylor K. Covington, Brownville, crashed into the rear of the school bus. The pickup was owned by Lorne J. Covington, Brownville. Both vehicles were eastbound on Highway 136.
The school bus sustained about $1,000 damage. The pickup sustained about $3,500 damage. A citation was pending against the driver of the pickup.
No airbags deployed on either vehicle. Both drivers wore lap and shoulder restraints. Neither alcohol nor drugs were suspected in the collision.