LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Of the six students transported to Kosair Children’s Hospital, only one student was kept overnight for observation. School officials say the male student is spending the night being observed for a possible concussion.
Fourth-graders from Louisville Collegiate School were injured Thursday when a tractor-trailer collided with their bus on Interstate 65, causing it to overturn as they traveled to an outing at Mammoth Cave National Park in south-central Kentucky, authorities said.
When the bus got into Hart County on I-65-- one mile north of Cave City-- police say a tractor trailer passed the bus.
Police say for some reason, the bus driver swerved off the interstate causing the bus to flip. The students, teachers and bus driver were taken to a hospital in Glasgow. Some of the students were treated there, but six students were later transported to Kosair Children's Hospital.
The hospital says the students suffered broken bones, a possible concussion, and a back injury. One of the teachers was transported to University Hospital. Police say they do not believe speed was a factor in the accident.
Police were searching for the tractor-trailer, which did not stop after the crash at 8:46 a.m. CDT about a mile north of Cave City in Hart County, said Kentucky State Police Trooper Jonathan Biven.
Authorities did not have a license plate number, and Biven described the rig as a white tractor-trailer.
"We've got units attempting to locate this tractor-trailer," he said.
The bus carried 16 students, two teachers and a driver from Louisville Collegiate School, said school spokeswoman Elizabeth Post.
"Everyone is accounted for and OK," she said in a phone interview.
Post said it was raining when the crash occurred.
The people aboard the bus were taken to T.J. Sampson Hospital in Glasgow, where they were treated mostly for bruises and cuts, said hospital spokesman Bart Logsdon. One person suffered a possible concussion, he said.
The bus was one of two transporting Collegiate fourth graders on the field trip to Mammoth Cave, Post said. The other bus turned around and returned to Louisville, she said.
The school was providing transportation to bring the affected students back to the school, she said.
“We are so blessed that our students and faculty are safe and they have had incredible care by the staff in the hospital." Scott Prince, head of Louisville Collegiate School, said.
"Most important thing is that we are safe and that everybody is home with their families," Prince added.
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Associated Press Writers Brett Barrouquere and Rebecca Yonker in Louisville contributed to this report.
