School Bus Involved In Crash On I-91 In North Haven

NORTH HAVEN, CT — Five people were hospitalized, including four middle school students from New Haven, after a pickup truck crashed into a school bus on I-91 in North Haven on Friday morning. The school bus way on its way to Wallingford for a field trip when the crash occurred, according to officials.

At about 10 a.m., the North Haven Fire and Police departments responded to a report of a crash involving a school bus on I-91 North near Exit 11 (Route 22).

Upon arrival, firefighters learned that a 45-year-old man from Ledyard, who was driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck, rear-ended a school bus that was stopped at the end of the exit 11 ramp.

The pickup truck driver was transported by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, according to a press release from North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski.

Januszewski said 29 middle and high school students were on the bus at the time of the crash, along with three adults. The students were from John S. Martinez School in New Haven and High School in the Community in New Haven. The bus was headed to Wallingford for a field trip.

Two middle school students, a male and a female, were taken by ambulance to Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Two other middle school students, a male and a female, were transported by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael Campus. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, according to Januszewski.

Additionally, two female middle school students were evaluated and released at the scene by the Yale New Haven Sponsor Hospital Area Response Physicians Team.

The bus was not seriously damaged, according to Januszewski.

Januszewski said a representative from First Student Inc., the bus company, arrived on scene to evaluate the bus, which was allowed to continue onward. The remaining students who were not injured and the three adults proceeded to Wallingford for the field trip.

The New Haven Board of Education also responded to the scene and notified parents of all students who were on the bus.

This incident is under investigation by Connecticut State Police.

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