School bus carrying sports teams has near miss with train

Published 1:30 am Monday, May 18, 2026

A school bus carrying both the Friday Harbor softball and baseball teams became stuck on train tracks while returning from district play-offs at the Skagit College campus in Mount Vernon on May 14 after cars in front of the bus reportedly abruptly stopped.

At that moment, a train came along, nearly colliding with the bus. No one was hurt; however, the Friday Harbor School District is investigating what happened.

“We are determining what caused the incident, and are taking steps to make sure that something like this never happens again,” Superintendent Fred Woods told the Journal. “We take this very seriously, which is why we started this investigation.”

Witnesses who wish to remain anonymous stated that baseball Coach Jon Smith got off the bus to get the cars in front of the bus to pull forward so the bus could get off the tracks before the train arrived. What could have been a tragedy was prevented.

Softball coach Kelly Ford said she is grateful the school district is taking the event seriously.

“I can sympathize with parents,” Woods said. “As a parent, I would react the same way. This is scary. I am so glad everyone is safe, but that doesn’t change everyone’s understandable reaction to something so frightening. We want to keep students safe. That isn’t just a motto. If we did something wrong, we want to make sure that it is corrected.”

This story will be updated as more information is received.