SUMNER (AP) — Two buses transporting nearly 100 students in northeast Iowa were involved in a crash Tuesday that sent dozens to area hospitals with minor injuries, according to school district officials.
Sumner-Fredericksburg School District Superintendent Rick Pederson said the crash on a rural county road near Sumner happened after one of the buses rear-ended the other, causing one of the vehicles to go into a ditch.
Pederson said 43 students were taken to three hospitals. Another 46 were checked at the scene and released to their parents. One hospitalized student will stay overnight for observation.
“We feel very fortunate that the severity of the accident and injuries were not more severe,” Pederson said. “It’s kind of a testament to the safety of the school buses. We’re very fortunate no one was more seriously injured.”
Pederson said he could not provide additional information about the extent of the injuries, or whether the bus drivers were injured. He also could not provide more information about what caused one of the buses to rear-end the other.
The students from Sumner-Fredericksburg Middle School in Fredericksburg were being transported to the district high school in Sumner as part of a daily routine. The students are in grades sixth through eighth, and are between the ages of 11 and 14, Pederson said.
A spokeswoman at Mercy Medical New Hampton said the hospital treated 11 bus passengers, and they were in stable condition.
A message left with the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, which is handling an investigation into the crash, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
Sumner is about 35 miles northeast of Waterloo.