TEMPLE (February 4, 2012)—Academy ISD school bus driver James Johnson, who’s been unconscious since a grinding collision on Jan. 17 between the bus he was driving and a Lowes delivery truck, had a restful night and was recovering Saturday after undergoing surgery at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, family members said.
Johnson, 71, underwent reconstructive facial surgery Friday and doctors also placed drainage tubes to relieve fluid pressure on his brain.
Johnson is not in a coma, but has not regained consciousness since the accident, although he is moving his arms, legs and head, his wife, Susie, said Saturday.
Family members, who are remaining with James Johnson around the clock to ensure that someone is there should he regain consciousness, will have to wait for several days to find out whether the placement of the drains will help.
Everything that has happened since the accident has been a miracle and God is answering our prayers, Susie Johnson said Saturday.
James Johnson has worked for the district for 27 years and his wife said Saturday members of the community have rallied around the injured driver and his family.
She said she “can’t believe how many lives this country boy has touched.”
Johnson and student Haley Johannsen, 14, were the most seriously injured of the 29 students and three adults who were taken to hospitals after the crash.
Johannsen was moved Monday from Scott & White Hospital to a rehabilitation facility in Fort Worth where she’ll spend at least a month, her mother said.
The bus was traveling on FM 93 and the Lowes truck was southbound on Old Highway 95 at around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 17 when the driver of the truck ran a stop sign, the Department of Public Safety said.
The truck driver, whose name hasn’t been released, has been cited for failure to observe the stop sign at the intersection, the DPS said.
There was fog in the area at the time of the accident, but it's not clear whether that might have been a factor.
The bus, which was carrying elementary and middle school children, came to rest on its side.
A 9-year-old boy was ejected through a hatch in the roof of the bus.
