Heartache turns 20: Children of truck driver killed in 1997 Monticello bus crash share their story

Tom Oswald shared this photograph of his father, John “Jack” Doyle, and one of the Barton Sand and Gravel trucks that he drove. “He loved his truck. He kept it clean and in good repair. He would come get me sometimes, so I could ride with him. He was such a good driver.” (Submitted photo)

Twenty years ago, on April 10, 1997, the community of Monticello heard news of a tragic crash between a Hoglund Transportation school bus and a Barton Sand and Gravel truck just a few miles west of town.

We grieved for the three students lost in that crash, and we cheered for the 10 students as they recovered from injuries and returned to school. To a person, those of us who experienced the news that day can recall where we were and what we were doing. We remember being horrified and worrying about where our own children were. Many people have been sharing their stories in the wake of reading anniversary memorials in the newspaper and online. Even those who didn’t experience that day firsthand have something to say. People are healing, but no one has forgotten.

  
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