Colorado Springs, CO : 3 Colorado Springs elementary school students injured in crash involving school bus, truck on Monday afternoon, March 13, 2017

Three elementary school kids are being evaluated at a local hospital after a crash involving a Colorado Springs School District 11 bus Monday afternoon, said Devra Ashby, a district spokeswoman.

The bus was carrying 37 kids from Columbia Elementary School, 835 E. St. Vrain St., to an after-school program.

Two of the students taken to the hospital are in kindergarten, Ashby said. One is a third-grader.

The driver of the white pickup truck, identified as Jonathan Murphy, 23, allegedly ran a red light and struck the bus, police said. The truck was westbound and the bus was southbound.

Murphy was cited with careless driving resulting in injury, police said.

The crash was reported about 2:45 p.m. at the intersection of East Cimarron and South Weber streets, said Capt. Steve Wilch, a spokesman for the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the crash.

"The majority of the injuries that have been reported to us (are) just bumps and bruises - a lot of shaken-up kids," Wilch said.

Some kids were picked up at the crash site - through a reunification process involving the adult showing identification - and the others were picked up by another bus and taken to the after-school program, Ashby said.

All three kids taken to hospital have been reunited with their families, either on scene or upon arriving at the hospital, she said. District officials including the school's principal arrived on scene.

"We did have staff on scene to comfort the kids," Ashby said. "They had a lot of adult supervision, a lot of people watching out for them."

The bus involved in the crash sustained only minor damages and was later able to drive away from the scene.

Matt and Ashley Reed were on scene to pick up their 7-year-old daughter, Amilia, according to Gazette news partner KKTV.

“It was really, really scary," Amilia told KKTV. “People were screaming and crying, and ambulance, police and firefighters came.”

Her father, Matt, pointed out that crashes happen, but that "our bus driver did a good job," KKTV reported.

Source :
3 Colorado Springs elementary school students transported to hospital in crash involving school bus, truck