Potholes Send Huron Township School Bus Into Ditch on Clark Road; 3 Students Injured. Parents Say They Warned Wayne County for Months.
The Michigan Legal Center News Desk | April 10, 2026 | Huron Township, Wayne County
Sources: CBS Detroit (Paula Wethington), WDIV ClickOnDetroit (Derick Hutchinson and Noelle Friel), published April 9-10, 2026
| QUICK ANSWER: What Happened on Clark Road in Huron Township on April 9, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| When and where | Approximately 8:36 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at the intersection of Clark and Judd Roads in Huron Township, Wayne County, Michigan. |
| What happened | A New Boston Huron School District bus driver was traveling on the right side of Clark Road to avoid large potholes when the road surface collapsed under the bus. The bus went into the ditch. Police reviewed interior bus camera footage and confirmed the driver was operating at appropriate speeds, was not texting, and was not impaired. |
| Injuries | Three students reported minor injuries and were evaluated by the emergency medical staff at the scene. All three were released to their parents after treatment. Remaining students were transferred to another bus and taken to school, or released to their parents on site. |
| Official statements | Huron Township Director of Public Safety Everette Robbins stated the crash appeared to be "simply a case of the road being soft." Wayne County Department of Public Services Deputy Director Scott Cabauatan said the road was inspected and confirmed safe and fully open after the incident. |
| What parents say | Parents and neighbors say Clark Road has been hazardous for years. In February 2026, one parent, Gloria Brown, created a petition urging Wayne County to repair the road. Parents stated that they had contacted local and state officials repeatedly before the crash. |
| Legal significance | Michigan law generally protects government entities from lawsuits under MCL 691.1401. However, the highway defect exception at MCL 691.1402 creates liability for road authorities that have notice of a dangerous condition and fail to repair it. A documented petition filed months before the crash is precisely the kind of notice evidence that makes this exception potentially applicable. |
| Contact | The Michigan Legal Center, Law Offices of Christopher Trainor & Associates: (248) 886-8650 |
A school bus full of students went into a ditch on Clark Road in Huron Township, Wayne County, on Thursday morning after the road surface collapsed as the driver tried to navigate around large potholes. Three children were injured. And parents say they saw it coming months ago.
The crash occurred at 8:36 a.m. on April 9, 2026, near the intersection of Clark and Judd Roads. Huron Township Director of Public Safety Everette Robbins said the driver was doing exactly what a careful driver would do: moving to the right side of the road to avoid large potholes. The road collapsed underneath the bus and sent it into the ditch.
The police reviewed the bus's interior camera footage. The driver was not speeding, texting, or under the influence of anything. Speed and intoxicants were ruled out. The bus operated within the law in every measurable way.
"This appears to simply be a case of the road being soft, and the driver took the appropriate actins to do what could be done to avoid something worse." -- Everette Robbins, Huron Township Director of Public Safety
Three students complained of minor injuries at the scene and were evaluated by Huron Valley Ambulance personnel before being released to their parents. The remaining students were transferred to another bus, some going to school and others going home with their families. Huron Township Fire, the school resource officer, and other first responders were on scene.
Wayne County Roads Division and the Huron Township Supervisor's office were notified of the road conditions.
But some parents in Huron Township said that the notification came about seven months too late.
Parents Had Been Sounding the Alarm Since February
In the hours after the crash, a clearer and more troubling picture began to emerge. This was not a surprising road failure. This was a road that residents of the Clark Road corridor had been reporting as dangerous for years and specifically petitioning Wayne County to fix since at least February 2026.
Gloria Brown, whose children ride the Huron School District bus, created a formal petition in February urging Wayne County to address the road conditions on Clark Road. She and other parents said they had contacted state and local officials repeatedly. The road was not repaired after the flood.
"It makes me mad. It infuriates me because we've been trying to put attention on this for so long. And for it to take this long for it to happen, that's unacceptable." -- Gloria Brown, Huron Township parent
Brown found out about the crash not from the school, but from a photo posted on Facebook showing her son stepping off the tilted bus.
Fifth grader Nellie Shay, who was on the bus, described the aftermath to WDIV. "Everyone was like all scared and stuff, and everyone was like shaking, even me and my friends," Shay said.
Sarah Grossman, a neighbor, was waiting at her stop with her daughter when the crash occurred down the street. She and a passerby used plywood boards to help the students safely step down from the tilted bus onto the road. Huron Township parent and nurse Heather Riddle drove by, stopped, and checked on the injured students.
"It was heartbreaking, and I don't really feel like even the kids are put as a priority, I don't feel like we as a community are put as a priority." -- Heather Riddle, Huron Township parent and nurse
Wayne County Department of Public Services Deputy Director Scott Cabauatan issued a statement saying that the road had been inspected and was confirmed to be safe and fully open to traffic. The county stated that it would continue to cooperate with the Huron Township Police investigation.
Parents were not satisfied. "Now that this did happen, they better do something," Brown said. "Because this can't happen again. It could've been a worse outcome than it was."
The Law Michigan Road Authorities Do Not Want You to Know About
Many Michiganders assume that if a government agency or municipality causes or fails to prevent an injury, there is nothing they can do legally to hold it accountable. This assumption is understandable. Michigan law broadly protects government entities from lawsuits under the governmental immunity statute at MCL 691.1401.
However, this immunity is not absolute. The exception most relevant to what happened on Clark Road in Huron Township is one that specifically targets this kind of situation.
The Highway Defect Exception: MCL 691.1402
Michigan's governmental immunity law includes a highway defect exception at MCL 691.1402, which states: Under this provision, a road authority, in this case, the Wayne County Roads Commission, can be held liable for physical injuries caused by a defective or dangerous condition of a highway, road, or street it is responsible for maintaining if:
- The road authority had jurisdiction over the road where the injury occurred
- The road was in a condition that was defective, unsafe, or dangerous for public travel
- The road authority knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, about the condition
- The road authority had the ability to repair the road
- The road authority failed to repair the road within a reasonable time after acquiring knowledge
Each of these elements is worth examining against the facts of what happened on Clark Road on April 9, 2026.
Wayne County Roads Division has jurisdiction over roads in Huron Township. The road surface collapsed under a school bus, sending it into a ditch. In February, a parent filed a formal petition with the county regarding the road. Parents reported making repeated contact with officials over several years. The Wayne County Roads Division was notified of the conditions after the crash, which meant that the road was on their radar.
This is a factual picture that a Michigan attorney would want to analyze closely.
Notice Is the Key: Why the February Petition Matters So Much
The most significant element of the highway defect exception is the knowledge of the defect. A road authority cannot be held liable simply because a road is in bad shape. The injured party or their attorney must demonstrate that the authority was aware or should have been aware of the hazardous condition and failed to take appropriate action.
A petition submitted to Wayne County in February 2026, documenting hazardous road conditions on Clark Road, is not just a community complaint. From a legal standpoint, it is potential evidence of actual notice to the road authority months before the crash occurred. This distinction is critical.
If the Wayne County Roads Commission received that petition, read it, and did not repair the road before a school bus went into a ditch on the same stretch of road two months later, that timeline would be central to any legal analysis.
The 120-Day Notice Requirement Under MCL 691.1404
Before a plaintiff can file a lawsuit against a governmental agency for a highway defect in Michigan, they must provide written notice of the claim within 120 days of the injury. The notice must include the nature of the injury, the location where it occurred, and the identity of the injured person.
This 120-day window is not an advisory period. Missing it typically bars the claim entirely, regardless of the strength of the underlying facts. For the three students injured in this crash and their families, the clock started running on April 9, 2026.
This is one of the most important reasons to consult an attorney promptly after a road defect injury in Michigan. The procedural steps come first, and they do not wait for the results.
What Michigan No-Fault Law Provides for Students Injured on a School Bus
Separate from any claim against the road authority, the three students injured on the Huron Township school bus have immediate rights under Michigan's no-fault law.
Michigan Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits cover medical and other allowable expenses for people injured in motor vehicle accidents, including passengers on school buses. The no-fault insurer for the bus, typically the school district's insurer or the bus operator's insurer, is responsible for paying PIP benefits to injured students regardless of fault.
Those benefits cover:
- Medical treatment costs, including emergency evaluation at the scene
- Future medical care related to the injuries
- Attendant care if the injuries require it
- Replacement services for household tasks the injured person cannot perform
- Work loss for any student of working age whose injuries prevent them from working
For children, the most common benefit claimed is medical expenses. But if any of the students' injuries turn out to be more serious than initially assessed, the full scope of PIP coverage should be pursued. Injuries to children sometimes present symptoms hours or days after the initial event, and medical evaluation should not stop simply because a child appears okay at the scene.
Can the Students Also Sue the Road Authority?
The no-fault PIP claim and a potential claim against Wayne County Roads Commission under the highway defect exception are separate legal tracks. Families can pursue both options simultaneously. No-fault claims pay for medical expenses and immediate losses. The highway defect claim, if it proceeds, seeks compensation for pain and suffering and non-economic losses that no-fault insurance does not cover.
For a child who was on that bus, frightened, shaken, and physically injured, the non-economic impact is real and documented in the medical records. A fifth grader describing her classmates shaking with fear as they evacuated a tilted school bus is not a minor incident, for example. This is an event that will stay with these children.
Wayne County Roads and the Broader Michigan Pothole Problem
What happened on Clark Road in Huron Township is a local story with statewide context. Michigan's roads consistently rank among the worst in the country. The combination of severe winter weather, freeze-thaw cycles, heavy traffic, and chronic underfunding of road maintenance creates road conditions that cause real harm to real people every year.
In 2015, Michigan enacted road funding legislation that was expected to increase infrastructure spending. In practice, road conditions in many parts of the state have continued to deteriorate. Wayne County, which includes Detroit and dozens of surrounding communities, has tens of thousands of lane miles of road under its jurisdiction. Clark Road in Huron Township is one of them, and residents say it has been neglected.
The legal framework under MCL 691.1402 exists precisely because the Michigan Legislature recognized that road authorities cannot simply ignore known dangerous conditions without consequence. Government immunity protects the legitimate exercise of government functions. It is not a shield that covers years of inaction on a road that residents have been reporting as dangerous.
What Families of Injured Students Should Do Now
Document the Children's Injuries Thoroughly
Even minor injuries require thorough documentation. Each injured child should be evaluated by a physician, not just emergency medical staff at the scene. Keep records of every visit, diagnosis, and treatment. If symptoms appear in the days following the crash, including neck pain, headaches, anxiety, or difficulty sleeping, these are compensable injuries that need to be documented medically.
Save Everything Related to the Road Condition
Photos, videos, social media posts, and any correspondence with county or township officials regarding Clark Road should be preserved immediately. Gloria Brown's February petition, if it can be located and documented, may be legally significant. Parents who sent emails, made phone calls, or submitted formal complaints should document these communications.
Understand the 120-Day Notice Deadline
The clock for providing formal legal notice to Wayne County under MCL 691.1404 is running. If your child was injured in this crash and you are considering a legal claim, contact an attorney now. The notice requirement is procedural, but failing to meet it is typically fatal to the claim.
Do Not Accept a Quick Settlement Without Legal Guidance
If Wayne County or its insurer reaches out to injured families, do not accept a release or settlement offer before consulting an attorney. Once you sign a release, you typically cannot pursue additional compensation, regardless of how the injuries develop or what the investigation reveals.
The Michigan Legal Center: We Have Held Government Road Authorities Accountable
The Law Offices of Christopher Trainor and Associates at the Michigan Legal Center have represented Michigan families injured because of dangerous road conditions and government failures to protect the public. We know the governmental immunity statute, and we know the highway defect exception. We know what evidence matters, how to document it, and how to build a case against a road authority that looked the other way when residents said the road was dangerous.
If your child was on the Huron Township school bus on April 9, 2026, or if your family has been injured on a defective Michigan road and you believe a road authority had notice of the problem, Christopher Trainor and his team want to hear from you. Consultations are free of charge. There is no fee unless we recover for you.
Call (248) 886-8650 to speak with the Michigan Legal Center today.
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