3 kids, 1 adult hurt when school bus slams into Hamline University building in St. Paul, police say

Three children and an adult have been released from the hospital after a school bus crashed into a building Tuesday afternoon on the campus of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

University officials say the crash occurred around 2:10 p.m. at the Robbins Science Center, located near the intersection of North Snelling and Hewitt avenues.

The St. Paul Police Department says approximately 12 children were on the bus at the time, and three of those students were rushed to Children's Hospital "to be examined for minor injuries." The bus driver also suffered minor injuries and was transported to Regions Hospital. Police said Wednesday the driver "did not exhibit any signs of intoxication or impairment."

The executive director of the students' charter school, Higher Ground Academy, said in a statement Wednesday all three students were released from the hospital Tuesday, and their families say they're "feeling much better." Higher Ground Academy is about 2 miles southeast of Hamline, located next to Concordia University.  

Attorney Patrick Boyle, from the law firm representing bus company Pride Transportation, also referred to as PTB Services, says based on initial analysis, the driver pushed the gas instead of the brake. Boyle added the driver, who has since been released from the hospital, had only been on the job for a week. 

Boyle says the vehicle passed its annual state Department of Transportation inspection and "the accident was not caused by a mechanical failure of the bus." 

According to Minnesota Department of Public Safety data, Pride Transportation failed the majority of its inspections over the last three years. Boyle says those "failures" are often corrected and reinspected on the same day.

University officials say none of its students or staff were hurt in the crash, and the entire campus closed Wednesday "upon the recommendation of emergency responders."  

Students told WCCO the damage done matched the sound they heard.

"I thought something exploded and I thought the whole building was going to explode," Maisa Ashfaq said. "I was just fight or flight, get out of the building now."

Charlie Smith, a bystander, says the sound of kids screaming alerted him that something was wrong.  

"He jumped the curb right in front of me and just beelined across here. And he just started hitting stuff, like the light pole, the sign over there, he wiped that out. And he came through here doing maybe, I'd say, 40, 45 mph and just hit the wall," Smith said.

He says he jumped into action to help after the crash.

"When I jumped on the bus, I smelled gas. That's when I started instructing everybody to get the kids, get them away from the bus in case it does blow up," he said.

In a letter sent to Higher Ground's parents and staff, officials said their "thoughts are with the injured students and their families," and they wished them "a speedy recovery."

"The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority," Higher Ground officials said.

Police say the crash is still under investigation.