​​​​​​​​This information is preliminary and subject to change​.

​Release Date 9 January 2026.

​On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at about 8:00 a.m. eastern standard time, a 2022 Blue Bird school bus, owned and operated by Maine School Administrative District #6, was stopped at a bus stop in the southbound lane of Route 35 in the town of Standish, Cumberland County, Maine. The typical section for Route 35 is a two-lane undivided roadway with one northbound and one southbound lane and a speed limit of 35 mph (see figure). At the location of the bus stop, an additional dedicated northbound left-turn lane was present due to the nearby intersection with Route 114. The northbound and southbound lanes were separated by painted solid double yellow lines. The crash occurred during daylight hours, and the roadway was partially wet.

At the bus stop, a 7-year-old student boarded the bus. A 5-year-old student was approaching the bus from the right rear. As the student reached the passenger loading doors, the doors began to close. The student extended his left arm into the bus, between the closing doors, and his arm became pinned between the doors as they closed. The bus began to drive south on Route 35, and the student was dragged about 280 feet before he became dislodged from the door, fell to the roadway, and was run over by the bus. As a result, the student sustained fatal injuries. The bus driver and the one student on the bus were uninjured.

​Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:

• ​Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
• Maine State Police
• Maine Department of Transportation