Emergency workers move a wreck victim from a Vicksburg Warren School District bus this morning after a wreck on Oak Ridge Road. Moving the victim are, in the bus, Vicksburg EMT Daryl Carson; on the road, from left, Vicksburg Police Sgt. Tom Wilson, EMT Tammy Jones, Culkin Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Chuck Tate and Deputy Sheriff James Carter. At right is the car that wrecked with the bus. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[04/30/03] Three people, including two students, were injured this morning in a wreck involving a car and a school bus on Oak Ridge Road.

Taken to River Region Medical Center were 16-year-old Jessica Johnson, a Warren Central student who was the driver of the car; 8-year-old Crystal Gladwell, a second-grader at Sherman Avenue Elementary who was a passenger on the bus; and Sybil Carraway, the bus driver whose age and address were not available.

The accident, reported at 7:19, tied up traffic on Oak Ridge Road for about an hour.

The wreck was the fourth in the area in a 24-hour period that injured eight people and killed a Tallulah woman.

Warren County Deputy James Carter said this morning’s wreck occurred as Jessica, driving a 1993 Mazda, attempted to turn left from West Pecan Tree Lane onto Oak Ridge Road and came into the path of Vicksburg Warren School District bus No. 179.

River Region spokesman Diane Gawronski said Carraway and Jessica were treated and released this morning. Crystal was being treated, Gawronski said.

Traffic on Oak Ridge, a major thoroughfare for thousands of residents in Openwood Plantation subdivision and neighborhoods north of there, was routed through Openwood for about an hour.

On Tuesday, two wrecks during the noon hour sent five people to River Region and damaged four vehicles.

The first wreck was reported on U.S. 61 South at Warrenton Road at 12:17 p.m., and the second was reported at Mission 66 and Indiana Avenue at 12:32 p.m.

A Jeep Cherokee driven by Wanda Storks, 40, 308 Anthony St. in Port Gibson, was headed south on U.S. 61 when it collided with a tan Daewoo driven by Desarea Burks, 19, 3037 Cook Drive, Edwards. Burks was turning from U.S. 61 South onto Warrenton Road, said Patrolman Bobby Jones, investigating officer.

He said both drivers and a passenger in the Daewoo, Ciji James, 19, 89 Bellaire Drive, were taken to the hospital.

Emergency medical and rescue personnel needed about a half hour, using prying equipment, to get James out of the car.

The second wreck left all three involved injured.

Joe A. Johnson, 24, 780 U.S. 61 South Apartment 19H, was driving a 1995 yellow Chevrolet truck, and his passenger was Formeka Hicks, 25, no address available, Sgt. Randy Blake said.

Johnson had head and neck injuries, and Hicks had a cut above her right eye, Blake said.

The driver of the other truck, William F. Floyd, 79, no address available, had a scrape on his arm, but was not taken to the hospital.

Blake said the accident occurred when Floyd, traveling south on Mission 66, attempted to make a left turn onto Indiana Avenue and struck the northbound vehicle driven by Johnson.

Johnson was cited for having no proof of insurance, and no other tickets were issued, Blake said.

Storks, Burks and Johnson were treated at River Region and released, said Emily Weatherly, River Region spokesman. She said there was no information on Hicks and James in the directory.

However, a friend of the family said James was doing well and was to be released from the hospital today.

In Tuesday’s fatal wreck, Louisiana State Police have identified the woman who died as Catina B. Walker, 29, 602 Third St., Tallulah. She was driving a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix east on U.S. 80 in Madison Parish when it failed to negotiate a curve and left the road, Senior Trooper Billy Zeigler said. The car went into a slide and hit a tree before catching fire, Zeigler said.

The wreck was reported at 7:10 a.m. by the Madison Parish Sheriff’s Department, Zeigler said. Madison Parish Chief Criminal Deputy Sammie Byrd said the wreck happened about four miles east of Tallulah, and Zeigler said Walker was traveling to work.