Pickup truck hits church bus

Above: The 1992 Bluebird bus at left and the 2017 Ford pickup truck, right, collided just before 10 a.m. Friday night north of the intersection to S. Main and Highway 195. A youth group from the Nazarene Church at Cheney was riding in the bus. All were taken to Whitman Hospital.

Teenagers who were riding on a bus from the Cheney Church of the Nazarene were shuttled by ambulances to Whitman Hospital after the bus collided with a pickup truck on S. Main Friday night. Police, fire and ambulance crews responded to the scene.

The driver of the pickup truck was identified as Jill Hogan, 39, Spokane. She and a 10-year-old boy who was riding in the pickup truck were also taken to Whitman Hospital.

The driver of the bus was identified as Shane Endicott, 38, Cheney. Hogan was driving a 2017 Ford Raptor pickup truck northbound on 195, crossed the centerline and struck the bus in the oncoming lane. The bus was a 1992 Bluebird model.

Both Colfax ambulances and ambulances from Albion and Steptoe responded to the scene and shuttled the teens to the hospital. Some of the group sustained minor injuries, but the crews transported all of them to the hospital to keep them together.

Police Chief Rick McNannay said alcohol was believed to have been involved in the collision. The department obtained a warrant to draw a blood sample from Hogan to determine a blood alcohol content, if any. The chief said results are expected in about a week.

The collision point was just north of the intersection of 195 and S. Main. The pickup truck and bus collided at the north part of the 195 curve on their left front bumpers, and the pickup truck bounced backwards across the highway.

The Cheney teens were headed for the overnight Super Seven rally for Nazarene youths from the area which is conducted each year at the University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome.

The collision just before 10 p.m. blocked traffic on Highway 195 for a short time, but the accident scene was cleared by the time heavy traffic flow rolled northbound through town after the WSU-USC football game in Pullman.

Traffic was able to go between the wrecked bus and pickup shortly after the scene was marked off, and Colfax fire volunteers washed debris from the highway.

Colfax Officer Cory Alcantar was the first to respond to the scene. Officer Matt Malakowsky was the investigating officer for the Colfax department.

The crew cleared the scene 75 minutes after getting the first call.