75-year-old Vernonia school bus driver recognized for quick thinking after crash

VERNONIA Ore. (KPTV) - A Vernonia High School bus driver is being recognized after a car hit a bus full of students on their way to a game. Officials say the 75-year-old driver was able to keep her kids safe.

A few days after the accident, Linda Christophersen is still sore, but doing well. Her daughter Tonya Langley was shocked to hear about the crash, but says her mom’s quick thinking deserves to be recognized.

Christophersen, or Miss Linda to her students, was driving Vernonia High School’s boys and girls basketball teams to a game at Nestucca High School on Friday when a driver crossed the center line on Highway 101.

“She could see the vehicle coming at her was crowding the center line so she started crowding the fog line as much as she could,” Langley said. “She yelled, ‘Hold on’, and then she said when it hit, the bus tried to go to the left and then immediately went to the right into the bank. She did everything she could to try to hold it.”

Christophersen stopped the bus safely, and immediately called to the students.

“She goes, ‘I’m fine but it’s not about me.’ She immediately diverted again to the kids. It was all about the kids and how the kids were,” Langley said.

While Christophersen declined an interview, Langley says her mom deserves some recognition.

“My mom has never known her own words and she’s never put herself out there,” Langley said. “It just made me very, very proud.”

She says her mom started driving the bus to stay busy after her husband passed. Langley remembers her skills started decades earlier, when they moved to Vernonia.

“She worked hard. She fed the cows. She drove dump truck for years for the family business. We rocked logging roads so for the longest time way before women really drove trucks my mom is driving trucks,” Langley said.

Now, Miss Linda decorates the bus for her students, always shows up with treats, even chaperones prom. And she’s ready to get back behind the wheel.

“We’re country people so her answer was, ‘Nope, it’s just like getting bucked off a horse, you have to get right back on’,” Langley said.

The Vernonia School District said in an email: “We would like to recognize our bus driver, Linda Christopherson, for her professionalism and composure during the collision. Her training and steady response helped maintain stability and student safety.”

According to the school district, one student suffered a seizure during the crash and was taken to the hospital. The Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests for more information on the crash and the other driver.