School bus crash blocks road near Palisades High School

CHARLOTTE — The inbound lanes of South Tryon Street are blocked due to a school bus crash Thursday morning.

It happened around 7 a.m. near Palisades High School just before Shopton Road West.

Channel 9’s Tina Terry spoke with neighbors who said that the sheer volume of traffic makes it unsafe for school buses going in and out of the school parking lot.

UPFDATE: A look at the school bus crash blocking IB S. Tryon near Palisades HS prior to Shopton Rd. W. More details over on @TV64 #LakeWylie #clt #cltraffic #clttraffic pic.twitter.com/UgsOOwR8Z8
— Traffic Team 9 (@TrafficTeam9) October 16, 2025

“In the mornings, it’s jam packed,” said Cheryl Strenk. “It’s tough to get onto Tryon [Street] from Grand Palisades [Parkway].”

Strenk says it can be unbearable at times near the high school.

“I can tell you if the light turns red, two or three cars will move forward and there doesn’t seem to be any consequence. It is pretty crazy,” she said.

She wasn’t surprised to hear about the crash early Thursday between a CMS school bus and a pickup truck.

It’s not clear what happened, but the high school sent a letter to parents saying there were no students on the bus and nobody was reported to be hurt. However, MEDIC says one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Last school year, a neighbor wrote to Channel 9 concerned that a bus could be hit in the area. He said the volume of traffic and lack of signals makes it hard for buses to turn in and out of the complex.

“A traffic light needs to be put there that comes on on school days between 6:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m.,” said Crawford Deveaux.

He says the school would also benefit from law enforcement directing traffic nearby.

“What does the resource officer at the school actually have to do between 6:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m.?” Deveaux said.

We asked CMS if anyone ever directs traffic there, and we’re waiting on a response. We also reached out to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for an update on any road-widening projects.

This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

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