School bus flips during crash, injuring 9 children, 2 adults, North Carolina cops say

Nine children and two adults were injured when a school bus flipped onto its roof in Burke County, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

The children and driver were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, officials said in a news release.

An adult bus passenger was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by first responders, the N.C. State Highway Patrol reported in a news release.

The crash happened around 7:25 a.m. Tuesday, April, 9, near Hildebran, about a 60-mile drive northwest of Charlotte.

“The driver was traveling west on Johnson Bridge Road, lost control, ran off the right side of the road, struck a ditch, and overturned. The bus came to rest on its top,” investigators said.

“One adult on the bus became partially entrapped in the bus and was transported by medical helicopter to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, in serious condition.”

The injured woman was identified as the bus monitor and she “was trapped partially in and under the bus” for more than 15 minutes, the Hickory Daily Record reports.

Investigators say the driver was cited for failure to maintain lane control.

“The bus operates as handicapped transportation and services multiple schools in the Burke County District,” officials said.

This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 11:44 AM with the headline "School bus flips during crash, injuring 9 children, 2 adults, North Carolina cops say."