9 Children Rushed to the Hospital After Bus Crashes into Tree

Nine children have been hospitalized after a school bus smashed into a tree Monday morning.

The bus was picking up students to take them to Princeton Elementary School in Princeton, a town of about 1,300 people in North Carolina.

Authorities say the bus came across a curve and ran off the road. It overcorrected on the center line before eventually hitting a mailbox and a tree, WRAL reports.

Two of the 24 students on board were taken to the hospital with femur fractures and facial lacerations. A total of nine students were taken to different hospitals.

The driver, 52-year-old Karin Allis Hauber, has been charged with a traffic violation.

Photos from the scene show the mangled bus stopped on a grassy patch on the side of the road under several trees.

The back of the bus appears partially torn off.

The speed limit on Stevens Chapel Road is 45 mph, but locals say drivers often ignore it.

“In the 10 years we’ve lived here that’s the third crash we’ve had from an overcorrection,” said area resident Thomas Goffe. “Two vehicles rolled over in the neighbors front yard across the street on the same day. Often enough, a lot of people go way too fast through here.”

Authorities say inattention was a factor in Monday’s crash, but drugs or speed were not.

Watch the video below for more:

This is the second school bus crash in Johnston County in four days.

On Friday, a man in a Nissan hit a school bus while turning left without yielding correctly. He then got out of his car and fled the scene on foot.

Eight children were injured and taken to the hospital.

The driver responsible, 30-year-old Trevor Grice, has been hit with a slew of charges including felony hit-and-run, driving with a revoked license, and having no insurance.