15 students hurt when school bus overturns in North Carolina

GASTONIA, N.C. -- Fifteen middle school students were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after their school bus overturned Wednesday afternoon in North Carolina, CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte reported.

The bus was carrying 45 students home from Southwest Middle School when it crashed around 3:30 p.m., coming to rest on its side.

Officials in Gaston County told WBTV the driver became distracted when the door of a compartment above her opened unexpectedly. When she tried to clear her line of sight, the bus went off the right side of the road and she over-corrected, causing the bus to overturn.

Investigators say speed does not appear to have been a factor in the crash.

Freezing rain and icy roads were reported throughout central and eastern North Carolina on Wednesday. Another school bus crashed Wednesday morning in Charlotte, but the 11 students on board and the driver were not hurt.