Bedford School Bus Crash: 23 Students Hospitalized

BEDFORD, MA – Nearly two dozen middle school students were hospitalized Wednesday morning after their school bus was involved in a crash in Bedford, state police said. The collision occurred around 9:10 a.m. on the southbound side of Route 3 prior to Exit 26.

The bus from Bartlett Community Partnership School in Lowell was carrying 46 students on their way to a field trip in Boston. According to police, the bus was cut off by a car switching lanes, causing the driver to break sharply and the bus to get rear-ended by a GMC van towing a trailer. Twenty-three students and the bus driver, a 44-year-old Methuen man, sustained minor injuries, police said.

The driver of the GMC, a 24-year-old Lynn man, was uninjured.

The remaining students were transferred to another bus and taken back to Bartlett School. The car that allegedly cut off the bus has not been located, and the incident is under investigation. So far no charges have been filed.

Two lanes on the southbound side of Route 3 were closed Wednesday morning but have since reopened.