Ride Therapy : Survivors of School Bus Accident Shake Off Their Grief at Knott’s

BUENA PARK —  The children who survived the recent accident involving a Los Angeles school bus and a malfunctioning trash truck are naturally leery of buses now. But the trip they took Tuesday morning helped them overcome those fears, at least for a day.

With California Highway Patrol officers huddled around them, they boarded two school buses in Los Angeles and headed for Knott’s Berry Farm.

With emergency lights flashing, the officers escorted about 40 children who were either involved in the crash or close to those who were, and their families, for the 45-minute ride to the amusement park.

The escort both distracted the kids--many of whom still fret about riding on the bus--and helped them feel safe, parents said. Most of the children from the Glen Alta School in northeastern Los Angeles still vividly recall the Dec. 6 accident in which a powerful hydraulic piston burst through the side of a city trash truck and raked the side of the bus. Two 8-year-old boys died and several children were wounded.

But the day at Knott’s Berry--organized by the amusement park and the CHP--sought to push the nightmare aside.

Right off the bus, the group was greeted by costumed characters.

“I got a hug from Snoopy,” said a grinning Brian Pleytez, 6, one of the accident survivors. “He’s my favorite.”

Images of broken glass, wounded classmates and tearful memorials seemed far removed from the children. They raced from one game to the other, riding miniature fire engines and directing small remote-controlled boats or trying the more famous rides of the park.

Parents and siblings of the children, some of whom had never been to an amusement park before, sported gold-colored CHP badge decals on their coats as they tried to keep up with the youngsters.

“He’s having a very good time,” said Xavier Nunez of his 8-year-old son Samuel. “He’s going crazy now.”

The Nunez family considered itself lucky after the crash. Samuel’s mother, Maggie, had a meeting at the school that day and had decided to drive her son instead of putting him on the bus. They avoided the trauma of the crash itself, but still had to cope with the death of two of Samuel’s classmates, Francisco Mata and Brian Serrano.

“He was kind of nervous about the bus, but he’s better now,” said Samuel’s father, Xavier Nunez. “This was a good solution. . . . I think God let this happen so parents will know that what is important is their kids.”

Eight-year-old Cynthia Terrazas, a survivor of the accident, dressed in a fancy plaid, ruffled dress and matching cap for the trip. “We’re just playing,” she said with a smile after hopping off a ride in Camp Snoopy.

Of the crash, she mostly remembers that her friends died. “I was scared,” she said, momentarily downcast but then smiling again as she skipped off to join her mother for a snack.

The father of 7-year-old Ricardo Rivera Jr. said the boy had trouble sleeping Monday night--not because of nightmares of the crash but from the excitement of his first trip to Knott’s Berry Farm.

“He was a little bit worried about taking the bus, but it’s just in his mind,” Rivera said. “I think they don’t want to be reminded . . . of the accident. Everything is good now. Everything is OK.”