Jasper County school bus catches fire

A school bus serving the Jasper County School District had an engine fire on Monday morning.

No students were aboard the bus and no one was injured in the fire, which occurred while it was being driven at about 7 a.m., according to district spokesman John Williams.

The bus served Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School and Ridgeland Elementary School, and was maintained by the S.C. Department of Education school bus facility in Beaufort.

In addition to Monday’s fire, four state-owned school buses have caught fire or begun smoking in Beaufort County this school year. Another four incidents have occurred elsewhere in the state.

The Beaufort County fires are under investigation by the state, which said last week it is forming a team of state transportation officials to review the documents and reports from its Beaufort-based maintenance facility.

In September, education department spokesman Dino Teppara provided statistics that 35 of the 39 school buses in Jasper County were at least six years old. Half were at least 16 and two had been on the road for more than 20 years.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Jasper County school bus catches fire."