Several children injured in bus crash

Several children were taken to hospital — including one who was flown by air ambulance — after a school bus rolled over in a single-vehicle crash near Woodstock, Ont., on Tuesday morning, police say.

Ryan Hall, chief of Oxford County's paramedics, said six were taken to hospital with “minor injuries” and the patient flown to a London hospital had suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The bus was carrying 40 students to Woodstock Christian School.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Ed Sanchuk says it was just after 8 a.m. when the school bus crashed near the rural intersection of Cuthbert Road and Dodge Line, south of Woodstock and east of Ingersoll.

The child who had to be airlifted had been pinned beneath the bus, Sanchuk said.

Officials with Woodstock Christian School declined comment. Per its website, the school educates kids from junior kindergarten to Grade 8.

At about noon on Tuesday, an Ontario Provincial Police cruiser was parked outside the school, where a woman was crying and hugged a man before getting in the front seat of the police vehicle.

THE BIGGEST THING IS IT SCARED THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ALL THE KIDS.

The ages of the injured children weren't immediately clear. Sanchuk added he wanted to thank the stranger who “came to the aid of all the children on the bus this morning” and helped them out of the bus. CTV London reported that police said the person ran to the scene from a nearby farmhouse.

“We can't thank you enough for everything you did,” Sanchuk said. “On behalf of all first responders, thank you.”

The bus driver suffered minor injuries, Sanchuk said.

The bus ended up on its entry-door side in a field.

Bernie Gray, whose business is about 800 metres away from the crash site, said he spoke to a lot of the parents as they arrived.

“There was a lot of parents down. They were all shook up at first,” he said in a phone interview. “The biggest thing is it scared the living hell out of all the kids.”

Workers used machinery to remove the overturned bus that appeared to have a broken front axle, missing front windshield and several shattered side windows.

Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione expressed relief that none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. “My thoughts and prayers are with all the children and their families and those involved.”

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.