Man dies after colliding with school bus

A 57-year-old West Bend man was killed last week when his 2018 Dodge Ram pickup truck struck a school bus head-on on Highway I in the Town of Cedarburg.

According to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, the southbound truck driven by Darren Hess struck the Riteway school bus driven by Deda Odekirk-Schuh, 71, of Saukville just north of Cedar Creek Road. There were no students on the bus at the time.

The crash occurred at about 1:18 p.m., the press release stated.

According to eyewitnesses, Hess’ truck was seen slowly drifting over the center line and into the northbound lane.

Odekirk-Schuh suffered minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Hess was pinned inside his truck and required extrication. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors at this time. However the crash is still under investigation pending the results of the autopsy,  toxicology and crash reconstruction, all which are standard practices for fatal crash investigations,” Ozaukee County Undersheriff Marshall Hermann said.

Both lanes of Highway I between Pleasant Valley Road and Cedar Creek Road were closed for about four hours while a crash reconstruction was being conducted.