Ohio school bus, truck collide; 11 injured

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — A pickup truck lost control on an icy road and crashed head-on into a school bus Wednesday morning, sending eight children and three adults to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

The truck slid on an icy overpass above Interstate 75 north of Cincinnati and sideswiped another vehicle before crashing into the bus, State Highway Patrol Sgt. Tom Bloomberg said.

The driver of the pickup truck and a passenger had moderate injuries, as did the bus driver. The students, from Middletown Christian Schools, had minor injuries, Bloomberg said.

Mark Spradling, superintendent of Middletown Christian Schools, said he went the hospital and all eight students were doing fine. A few were still being treated in the emergency room, he said.

The 37 other children on the bus were taken to Middletown Christian School on another bus, the patrol said.

The Middletown City Schools bus was providing shuttle service to the private Christian school.

He said a few parents had taken their children home for the day.

"They were a little shook up," he said. "It was left up to the parents."

The rest rejoined their classes, he said.

Milt Thompson, business manager for the Middletown school district, said the school bus driver was shaken up and complained of a hurt leg.

The accident happened at around 8 a.m. in Franklin Township near Middletown, about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.