Wilson man killed in school bus wreck

Robert Lee Hills, of Wilson, died at the scene of the wreck at Forest Hills Road and Cardinal Drive, Sgt. John Slaughter said. The bus driver, monitor and five Fike High School students were checked out at local hospital as a precaution and released.

Police said Hills' Lincoln Town Car crossed the center line of Forest Hills Road and struck the northbound school bus.

John Carpenter, who was taking his daughter school, said he slowed down when he saw the Town Car swerving erratically shortly before the wreck.

"It wasn't like when you see someone drop something, and then they drift a little bit and then try to correct themselves. But this one didn't correct. He kept coming over," Carpenter said. "Then it was like a bomb went off. There was stuff all over the place, pieces of car all over the road."

Preliminary reports indicate that speed and alcohol were not factors in the wreck.

"It's a 35 mph zone through here, but unfortunately, when you have a vehicle as big as a school bus, you can have this result," Slaughter said.

He said that police traffic investigators are still looking into what caused Hills to cross the center line. A medical exam will likely be performed to see if he had any underlying health issues.

Hills leaves behind a wife.