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Nov 19, 2008 10:13 pm US/Central
Injuries Reported In Anna ISD School Bus Wreck
ANNA, Texas (CBS 11 News) ―
A school bus loaded with students crashed into an electric pole in the Collin County community of Anna late Wednesday afternoon.
The crash happened in the 600 block of FM 455/ White Road and Willow Creek, about two miles away from school grounds.
Officials with the Anna Independent School District said the driver lost control of the bus, jumped a curb, crossed a daycare center parking lot and smashed into a power pole. The impact snapped the pole and downed power lines landed on top of Bus 68.
Students on board the bus told CBS 11's Stephanie Lucero about their experience.
Click here to watch their interviews.
"It was panic. You could tell they were scared to death," said Lori Nolan, who manages the Dollar General Store across the street from where the accident happened.
She continued on, saying the power went out in her building and she heard two "loud bangs" when the bus smashed into the pole.
"Some of the kids who weren't injured actually walked across the street to meet their parents and said that the bus driver was going across the bridge and was scraping the side of the bus the whole entire time on the side of the bridge and never gained control and just went into the ditch and hit the telephone line," said Nolan.
Video from Chopper 11 showed people on stretchers being moved to ambulances. Others were seen being examined at a triage area set up nearby.
Officials report 32 students were on the bus and 14 were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries. A total of 9 patients were taken to McKinney Medical Center and the others were taken to Wilson Jones in Sherman.
Of those taken to McKinney Medical, officials say the ages of the victims range from 8 - 16. All of them are reportedly in good to fair condition with back and neck injuries. All had been discharged by late Wednesday evening.
The Anna Police Chief said it was too early to say if any charges would be brought against the driver of the school bus, whose condition is still unknown. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Anna is a town of about 2,000, located 40 miles north of Dallas.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
