Police and first responders at the scene of an accident where a 13-year-old was hit by a tractor-trailer after getting off a school bus on Lewiston Road in Gray on Tuesday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

The truck driver who hit a 13-year-old student as he crossed the street in Gray swerved around the school bus to avoid crashing into it after the truck’s brakes locked up, according to a preliminary crash report.

Jeffrey Lane, 49, who was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Bard Trucking of Farmington, failed to yield the right-of-way when he passed the MSAD 15 school bus, which was stopped with its lights flashing and flashing stop arm engaged – effectively running a stop sign, according to the report filed with the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The crash report says a criminal citation is pending, but the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that the crash remains under investigation and it has not yet been determined if there will be any citations or charges. The crash report, which did not say what caused the tractor-trailer’s brakes to lock up, is not complete, the sheriff’s office said.

Lane, who is from Wilton, was not distracted at the time of the crash and he was not tested for drugs or alcohol. The road and weather conditions were clear, the report states.

The Gray-New Gloucester Middle School student was seriously injured and has since had surgery. He is expected to recover but faces a long road, according to his mother and school officials.

The crash happened shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near 135 Lewiston Road (Route 100). Emergency personnel arrived to find the teen semiconscious and took him to Maine Medical Center. The drivers and 17 students on the bus were not injured.

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The report said the bus driver, Joyce Hamilton, did nothing to contribute to the crash.

Hamilton saw the truck approaching from behind and tried unsuccessfully to warn the teen by honking the horn, Sheriff Kevin Joyce said this week. The department is reviewing footage from a camera on the bus as part of its investigation. A reconstruction of the crash is expected to determine how fast the truck was traveling.

The school bus and truck were both traveling northbound toward New Gloucester in a 45 mph zone. Police have not received complaints about cars passing school buses in that area in the last couple of years.

A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Heather Phillips, the teen’s mother, to cover medical expenses has raised more than $20,000 since Tuesday night. In an update posted Thursday, she said they are still working to manage her son’s pain and that new injuries are being discovered. He is experiencing the most pain in his left hand, back, neck and foot, she said.

“I deeply appreciate all the prayers, donations, get-well cards and everything this community has shown,” Phillips wrote. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

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