1 In Custody After School Bus Crash, Students Injured
DENVER (CBS4)- A Denver Public Schools bus collided with a stolen vehicle in Denver's Sunnyside neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, injuring some students and people inside the SUV. One person was taken into police custody.
"I was talking to this girl on the bus and then all of a sudden I just felt a bang and I smacked my face on the seat," said Jacob, a student on the bus when it crashed.
The crash happened just before 4 p.m. at 39th and Tejon Street as a burglary suspect was trying to get away from police. One officer said the suspect was driving a stolen SUV.
The school bus, with students from Denver Montessori Jr./Sr. High School on board, happened to be in the path of the SUV.
When the suspect tried to run a stop sign, the bus driver had to swerve to get out of the way and smashed into a tree.
"They received mainly bumps and bruises. They're shaken up because this was a very traumatic thing for them but physically most of them are okay," said Denver Public Schools spokesman Will Jones.
Ten people, including five students, were rushed to Denver Health Medical Center with injuries. One patient was listed in critical condition, two were in serious condition and seven others listed in fair condition.
Five people in the stolen SUV, including two children who were seriously injured, were transported to the hospital.
Twenty-one students managed to escape without injury.
"I'm doing fine. I landed on a few people but I'm not sure about my classmates. It's just minor injuries but I'm really worried about them," said one student on the bus.
"When I jumped out of the back, the people that hit us were in the middle of the road and the police officers had the guns pointed at the driver and I was like, 'Oh, snap! What's going on?' and then I just ran over here because I was scared and shaken up," said Jacob.
Copter4 flew over the crash scene where dozens of students were lined up on the sidewalk waiting to be evaluated by medical personnel.
The school bus had crashed into a tree and there was significant damage to the front of the bus.
The intersection was closed to traffic during the crash investigation and cleanup.
