GOLDEN VALLEY --  Two people were injured earlier today when the school bus they were riding on rolled over  on the freeway near Golden Valley.

Today at around 12:30 p.m., Nevada Troopers were dispatched to US395 at Golden Valley Road for a rollover accident involving a Washoe County School Bus.  The preliminary investigation indicates that a 2003 Black Volkswagen Jetta was traveling northbound in the slow lane (#2 travel lane) of US395 and a 1996 International Washoe County School Bus was traveling northbound in the fast lane (#1 travel lane) on US395.  The 2003 Jetta was driven by 32-year-old Rosana Chavez of Reno, and the school bus was driven by 64-year-old Pedro Ortega of Sparks.  The school bus had a 3-year-old female juvenile on board.

For an unknown reason Ms. Chavez steered the Jetta into the #1 travel lane causing the Jetta’s left front to strike the school bus’s right rear which caused the school bus to exit the roadway left and into the dirt median before overturning.

The driver and passenger of the school bus were transported via Remsa to Renown for minor injuries.

The Washoe County School Bus was transporting the juvenile to Matthews Elementary as part of the Early Learning Pre-K Program.  Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the accident.

The northbound #2 & 3 travel lanes were shut down for approximately one and a half hours with all travel lanes opened at 2:08 p.m. 

The driver of the Jetta was given a citation for failure to maintain her travel lane.