Almost immediately after a school bus carrying 11 middle schoolers crashed in California Thursday morning, witnesses rushed to help pull injured children from the wreck.
Those witnesses told the Los Angeles Times they heard a loud "crack" as the bus slammed into several trees near the Anaheim Hills golf course. They say the next thing they heard was students screaming for help.
"We hit a tree and the lamp post and went this to the dirt everywhere and all of a sudden, there was a girl screaming and blood everywhere." (Via KTTV)
"We hit, I don't know, like, it went sideways. I heard a lot of thumps and stuff from people hitting things." (Via KTLA)
According to the California Highway Patrol, five of the El Rancho Charter Middle School students were taken to the hospital with critical and minor injuries. (Via ABC)
The other children suffered minor scrapes and bruises and were sent home with their parents. Everyone is expected to be okay.
The bus driver was hurt the worst in the accident. It reportedly took close to 20 minutes for firefighters to pull him from the wreck, and he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. (Via CNN)
Police say the cause of the crash is still unclear. But several students told KNBC the driver wasn't feeling well before the accident.
"At the last stop that we were at, Mr. Jerry was standing around, the bus for three or four minutes. A student was like, 'Mr. Jerry, like come on, let's go.'" (Via KNBC)
"I'm almost 100 percent sure that that bus driver passed out before this accident happened." (Via KTLA)
Officials say the driver and two students remained hospitalized as of early Friday. An investigation into the crash is now underway.
