WATERTOWN, MASS. (WHDH) - Five students have been taken to the hospital after a school bus was involved in a crash in Watertown Wednesday morning.
There were 44 elementary school students on the bus at the time of the crash and six were transported to the hospital with minor injuries, Watertown Police Lieutenant James O’Connor confirmed. The rest of the students who were on the bus this morning are a little shaken up but they all seem to be OK as their parents came to pick them up, O’Connor said.
The school bus and the car that was involved in the crash were both towed from the scene. Officials said both drivers are expected to be OK.
Police advised drivers to avoid the area of Belmont Street and Lexington Street in Watertown as they investigated the accident, though the streets have since reopened.
A neighbor described hearing a loud “bang” noise when the crash happened.
“It sounded like a door slamming,” he said.
One student described her experience of the crash.
“Everyone went forward bumping into the seat, and then I think the seat right behind us had glass shattered,” she said.
“I was on the edge seat I wasn’t able to see what happened, but I actually fell out of my seat,” another student who had been on the bus said.
“They had scratches on their face,” she said of the students sent to the hospital. “Some of them had bruises.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation but Watertown Police said they think the glare of the sun may have had something to do with the accident.
Watertown Public Schools released the following statement:
“There was a minor bus accident early this morning involving a school bus on route to the Lowell West School. There were six students with minor injuries reported among the 44 passengers. Everyone is safe and being attended to, and parents of the students have been notified of the accident, which was first reported around 8:15 a.m. on Belmont Street in Watertown. The investigation is ongoing and updates from the Superintendent’s Office will follow as more information becomes available.”
Students were able to get to school, and have been reunited with their families.
“I’m still a bit nervous, a bit traumatized, but I think I’m feeling better from now,” one of the students said.
“As you can imagine, this was a frightening experience for our students on the bus, and we will be continually checking in with them over the coming days to offer whatever support is needed,” Superintendent Dede Galdston added.
The superintendent also sent a note to families about the incident, in which they told them what happened and thanked the first responders, school resource officers and Lowell School staff that attended to the children involved in the crash.
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