14 people sent to hospital in Gloucester County after a 5-vehicle crash involving a school bus and 2 dump trucks
All 14 people have been released from area hospitals or are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, Monroe Township police said in a statement.
Fourteen people, including a dozen children, were sent to the hospital after a dump truck caused a chain-reaction crash involving a school bus in Monroe Township Thursday.
A dump truck driver traveling north on North Tuckahoe Road failed to brake for traffic caused by a stopped school bus and struck the back of a passenger vehicle with one adult and three children, according to a statement from Monroe Township police.
The force pushed that vehicle into the back of another passenger vehicle with an adult driver. The second passenger vehicle then struck the back of the school bus, which struck a second dump truck.
One child in the backseat of the first passenger vehicle got trapped and had to be removed by the fire department, according to police.
Monroe Township Public Schools confirmed on social media Thursday that the bus was traveling from Oak Knoll Elementary School.
“A number of students were transported to the hospital for further evaluation. Parents of students riding the bus were immediately notified,” the statement reads. “The students were evaluated by medical staff at the hospital and subsequently released. Thankfully, the driver and students are safe and healthy.”
As of Thursday night, all 12 children and two adults sent to area hospitals for evaluation were either released or were “in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries,” according to police.
Monroe Township police are still investigating the crash, but said the commercial carrier associated with the dump trucks is cooperating and motor vehicle complaints are pending.
The crash wasn’t the first involving a school bus in Gloucester County this week. On Wednesday, four children were sent to the hospital in Washington Township after a vehicle struck a school bus headed to Bells Elementary School.
