READING, MASS. (WHDH) - Two children were among the three people who suffered minor injuries in a crash involving a school bus in Reading on Friday, officials said.
Video from SKY7-HD showed a damaged gray sedan against a utility pole and a school bus on a lawn near the intersection of Wakefield and Charles streets around 4:30 p.m.
Residents who live nearby said they were shocked to see a smoking school bus off of the road and many did whatever they could to keep the kids cool and calm as they waited to be taken to a reunification center.
“We grabbed water and juice boxes and just gave it to them,” one resident said.
Emergency responders said they were happy to see neighborhood residents “step up” to help with the children.
As police worked to investigate the cause of the crash, parents could be seen coming to the scene and embracing their shaken children.
The 18 girls who were on board were being taken home from Cape Rice Moody, a nearby Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts camp.
“We felt like a giant bump and a lot of the girls fell on the floor,” said Gabriela Dutras, who was on the bus at the time of the crash. “Then we realized the bus wasn’t on the road anymore and then we all got up and all the police started to arrive.”
The driver of the other car involved was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)