2 Hurt In Framingham School Bus Crash

FRAMINGHAM (CBS) -- A school bus was involved in a crash with a pickup truck and SUV Thursday morning, leaving two drivers injured.

Nine children were on board the bus headed to Brophy Elementary School, but were all okay and were put on another bus to school.

The crash happened around 8:45 a.m. at Water and Brook Streets.

Framingham's Assistant Fire Chief told WBZ-TV's Nicole Jacobs the situation "looked worse than it was."

The truck rolled over as a result of the crash, and the SUV had heavy front-end damage.

The truck driver, a man in his 50s, was taken from the scene by helicopter as a precaution. He was initially thought to be more seriously injured because of the condition of his truck.

The woman in the SUV was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Their injuries were not life-threatening.

"The people were making a little bit of noise, especially the kids on the bus," said witness Sirlei Lopez. "They lined up trying to remove all the kids out of the bus first."

"Framingham School Bus M24, on its way to Brophy School, was involved in an accident at the intersection of Water and Brook Streets," Framingham Public Schools said in a statement. "No students were injured and the students were transferred to another bus and taken to Brophy School where they will be checked and counseled, if needed."

They added that the bus driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Jim Foster was driving by, and came upon the crash scene moments after it happened. He told WBZ-TV he pulled over and ran to the truck, which was on its side, to see if he could help--and says it's a miracle things weren't worse.

"I could see there was smoke rising up and everything," he said. "I noticed then that there was a school bus that was hit, and another car that was hit pretty hard, because it was off the street, onto the sidewalk, and all the air bags had gone off."

He said an older woman called police, and the school bus driver said that the children on board were safe--so Foster went over to the truck.

"The man inside has to be one of the luckiest people on earth right now, because legitimately, you couldn't even fit a small boy in the hole that this giant man was sitting in, so he is so incredibly lucky," he said.

Foster said he helped pull the man out of the hole "gently," because there were cables and broken glass all over the place.

"When I came around the corner, I really did think I was gonna see somebody who was in a real bad shape," Foster said. "And when I stuck my head in that hole and saw him looking up at me, I couldn't believe it."

Foster said he believed the person in the third vehicle was an older woman who was bleeding but "okay."

The SUV and truck were towed from the scene, and the bus was driven away.

Framingham Police said Water Street was reopened shortly before 11 a.m.

The cause of the crash was not yet known.

In:
• School Bus
• Nicole Jacobs