Shoreline, WA : 10 people injured in school bus crash in Shoreline on Saturday night, February 14, 2015

Ten people were taken to a local hospital after a school bus crashed and rolled over in Shoreline Saturday night.

The bus was carrying the King's High School basketball team, which had just won their district championship game in Mount Vernon. They were heading home to Shoreline just after 10 p.m. when the bus apparently had a brake failure as it exited southbound I-5 onto the SR-104 off-ramp, the driver told investigators.

The bus drifted off the road into a ditch, came back into the road, hit the curb and rolled onto its side, troopers said. No other vehicles were involved.

"She says when she was taking the off ramp at State Route 104 her brakes weren't working. She tries to dive into that shoulder to make that turn, (but) isn't able to make it. The bus trips over the curbing behind us and rolls over onto its left side," said Trooper Mark Francis.

Troopers say 16 people were on the bus -- 12 high school boys, three coaches and a driver.

Nine of those on board were taken to Northwest and Swedish Edmonds hospitals for treatment of injuries such as cuts, concussions and one had a broken arm, troopers said. The others on board were reunited with their families at the scene, according to Francis.

The moments leading up to the crash felt like they could be the last for King's High player Christopher Martin.

"There were people flying from the topside down. People were hitting the windows on the bottom side. Sparks were flying," Martin said.

Martin said he and his teammates knew something was horribly wrong as the bus driver tried to make an exit.

"All of a sudden the bus driver screams, 'We don't have our brakes! We lost our brakes!'" Martin said.

Player David Barhanovich suffered a concussion in the crash. He told his dad, John, that for a moment he thought he might die.

"The bus was going really fast," John said. "In his words, 'It may have been the fastest I've ever gone on a bus.'"

The bus, which is not equipped with seat belts, passed its last inspection in 2014, according to Francis. While the driver says the brakes went out, Francis said investigators tested the brakes and found them to be functional.

Investigators are also looking into reports the muffler may have come off the bus earlier in the trip.

The team was supposed to play again on Friday, but it's unclear if the players will be healed in time to continue in the playoffs.

Source :
10 hospitalized in school bus crash in Shoreline