A school bus headed for the Hope Episcopal Church stop in Suntree rear-ended a stopped car at the intersection of Wickham and Suntree Boulevard on Tuesday, sending one West Shore student to the hospital. Sophomore Katy Morgan was treated for whiplash and later released from Viera Hospital.

“I didn’t even realize we got into an accident,” said sophomore Ben Mechachonis, who was a passenger on the bus. “It just felt like the bus driver slammed on his breaks. Everyone’s fine, most people just have some bruises.”

At 4:10 p.m. Assistant Principal Jim Melia was notified of the accident. When Melia got to the scene of the accident, he had to sign a release form for each of the approximately 27 students riding the bus.

“It took an hour for us to be released,” Mechachonis said.

Parents of students were called to pick them up at the accident scene. A bus was waiting at a near-by furniture store to take students who were not picked up.

“We’re really thankful that the parents and students were nice and cooperative during the inconvenience,” Melia said.