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PARADISE, Cache County — Six children were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries after a school bus crashed into a tree Monday.
The bus carrying students from Canyon Elementary School was traveling south on state Route 165 through Paradise about 3:45 p.m. when the driver became distracted by a student who was standing up at the back of the bus, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said.
The driver took her eyes off the road as she rounded a sharp curve, and the bus went off the right side of the road, struck a sign, went down a slight embankment and crashed into a tree, Royce said.
Six children were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, UHP Sgt. Cade Brenchley said. The injuries were all superficial, Brenchley said, including one laceration to a child's head.
The driver, a 57-year-old woman, was reportedly in good condition.
The bus may have been carrying as many as 50 students, though officials were struggling to get a final count because many children were taken from the scene by their parents, Brenchley said.
"We understand that parents are very concerned and panicked when children are involved in crashes like this, but they need to remain on scene and let the emergency medical units assess the children, as well as get the children accounted for," he said.
A second bus accident Monday was blamed on drowsy driving.
Witnesses say a Wyoming man fell asleep while driving and crashed into a school bus Monday morning.
There were no students on the bus at the time of the crash, Vernal Police Chief Dylan Rooks said.
The bus was turning left from 100 South onto U.S. 40 about 7:15 a.m. when it was hit by a Chevy Suburban. Two passengers in the Suburban told police that the driver, Chance Pueblo, appeared to be asleep at the wheel when he drove through a red light and hit the bus, Rooks said.
Pueblo, 26, of Rock Springs, Wyo., suffered a substantial cut to his forehead, the chief said. His passengers and the school bus driver suffered only minor injuries.
Rooks said everyone involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt. Pueblo was cited for failure to stop at a red light.
More information will be posted as it becomes available.
