Eleven Sent To Hospitals After Wethersfield School Bus Crash

April 02--WETHERSFIELD -- About a dozen people, including seven students, were sent to area hospitals Friday morning after a school bus crash.

Police, firefighters and seven ambulances were dispatched to the scene, 52 Prospect Street, shortly before 8:50 a.m., according to an ambulance company spokesman. The injuries are not believed to be serious.

The crash was declared a "mass casualty incident," with all students on the bus being transported to hospitals, said David Skoczulek of Aetna Ambulance Service, Inc.

As of 9:15 a.m., 11 patients had been transported to area hospitals. Seven were sent to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Skoczulek said, two went to Middlesex Hospital, one went to Hartford Hospital and one went to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

The students were not injured, Police Lt. Andrew Power said. They were transported to the hospital to be reunited with parents, which is protocol for such incidents, he said. He said the students were 7 and 8 years old.

Tim Howes, assistant superintendent of schools, said the students were younger, in kindergarten and pre-kindergarten.

The small bus rear-ended a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, causing a chain reaction crash, police said.

The Jeep struck another car, and the third vehicle then hit a fourth, witnesses said.

The driver of the Wrangler was among the injured, Power said.

"We believe traffic was stopped and we believe the bus driver was distracted for some reason," he said.

A representative of the state Department of Motor Vehicles will inspect the bus, he said.

The term "mass casualty incident" means that more resources are needed because of the number of patients, said Skoczulek, from the ambulance company. It doesn't speak to the extent of injuries, he said.

The bus was on its way to a the Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School, Howes said. One Wethersfield student was on board, he said.

The Capitol Region Education Council, which operates the magnet school, said the bus is from First Student. The bus driver was the person taken to Hartford Hospital, CREC said in a statement.

"Seven CREC students were taken by ambulance to Connecticut Children's Medical Center Thursday morning after their school bus was involved in an accident in Wethersfield," the statement says. "All families have been contacted about the incident and are at the hospital with their children. At this time, there appears to be no major injuries."

"Police are still investigating the cause of the accident," CREC said. "Student safety is CREC's first priority. We are working closely with local officials to collect more information."

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