26 Students from Philadelphia Hospitalized after Bus Crash on I-95 Near Havre de Grace

From Maryland State Police:

Maryland State Police are continuing their investigation into a crash this morning that injured multiple people and involved a passenger bus with school students on board and a passenger vehicle.

The driver of the passenger vehicle is from Maryland. He refused medical treatment at the scene.

Those on-board the bus included 26 students from the Philadelphia School District, three adult chaperones and one driver. All persons on the bus were transported to area hospitals, at least for a medical evaluation. Two people who were flown by medevacs, one from the Maryland State Police and one from the Delaware State Police, to trauma centers. The others were transported by ambulances to hospitals in the region.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. today, Maryland State Police received multiple 9-1-1 calls from motorists, reporting an overturned passenger bus southbound Interstate 95, just north of the Havre de Grace exit. Troopers from Maryland State Police JFK Highway Barrack were immediately dispatched to the location.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the passenger bus and vehicle had been traveling southbound Interstate 95 in the middle of three interstate lanes. The driver of the passenger vehicle attempted a passing maneuver around the passenger bus on the left by driving into the fast lane. As the driver of the passenger vehicle entered lane one, he lost control of his vehicle for unknown reasons and drove off on the left side of the interstate, then returned to the travel portion, crossing all three lanes of traffic. The passenger vehicle clipped the front of the passenger bus as it cross in front of it.

After being struck, the passenger bus traveled off the right side of the interstate, struck an embankment and then struck a tree before overturning onto its left side. The bus came to rest across the slow and middle lanes of the interstate.

Additional individuals who witnessed the crash have told State Police investigators the passenger vehicle was proceeding around the bus, when it struck the front end of the passenger bus. The Maryland State Police Crash Team is conducting the ongoing investigation, with assistance from JFK Highway Barrack troopers.

State Police crash investigators have consulted with the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, who determined charges would be withheld at this time. Upon completion of the State Police investigation, it will be provided to the State’s Attorney’s Office for review and a determination of what charges will be filed.

The investigation is continuing.

Photograph courtesy of the Susquehanna Hose Company.