A student and a teacher were killed Thursday morning in northwest New Jersey when a school bus collided with a dump truck.
CBS New York reports that the crash happened at about 10:20 a.m. on I-80 in Mount Olive and that the bus was carrying a group of fifth graders who attend East Brook Middle School in Paramus.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there were 38 students and seven adults on the bus, and that a total of 43 people were transported to area hospitals.
“Some patients are in critical condition and currently undergoing surgery, so please keep everybody in your prayers,” Murphy said at a press conference.
Mount Olive Mayor Robert Greenbaum said the first word he got about the crash included “entrapment and possible ejections.”
“I have never seen anything like that. I can only describe it as horrific,” Greenbaum said.
According to CBS, the body of the bus came completely free from the chassis, which stretched across several lanes of traffic, while the rest of the bus came to rest on its side over the highway median.
The bus was one of three from Brook Middle School ferrying students on a field trip. The other two buses returned safely to the school for students to reunite with their families.
The National Transportation Safety Board was gathering information as it investigates the crash.
