Corona Del Mar Senior Speaks Out After Falling Out Of Bus Window On Way To Prom
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A Corona del Mar High School student is speaking out after falling out of a bus window on the way to prom over the weekend.
Charlotte Boyse, 17, fell out of the left-side window of the party bus and into oncoming traffic Saturday on the southbound 73 Freeway near Newport Coast Drive.
California Highway Patrol officials said the bus was traveling at 30 miles per hour when Boyse hit the pavement.
The senior remembered the window opening and her friends reaching to grab her before making impact.
"My friends held my hand as I fell, so thankfully, my head wasn't injured. I fell on my backside and my tailbone," Boyse said.
CBS2's Adrianna Weingold reports that Boyse managed to crawl to the center divider.
Other students on the bus screamed for the driver to stop.
When the bus finally pulled over, Boyse's classmates jumped out of the window and ran down the freeway to her aid.
A woman driving by saw Boyse crawling on the freeway in a prom dress and pulled over.
"If they were 10, 20 seconds faster, they would have hit me," Boyse said.
Boyse's father, Conrad, is grateful his daughter is not only alive, but walked away without any serious injuries, not even a broken bone.
"It was incredulous. I couldn't understand what had happened. I thought maybe she was getting on and off the bus, and then when we heard the bus was moving and that she had fallen out, I couldn't, I couldn't understand it," he said.
Boyse is in recovery from severe road rash on her body.
"It's just a little hard to believe, especially that I pretty much have no serious injuries, I think is also pretty surprising," she said.
CHP officials are inspecting the bus to see if the window locks are in proper working order.
They are also interviewing the bus driver to see if she gave the teens any sort of safety briefing before leaving for the prom.
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