The accident, which occurred at about 4:20 p.m., involved at least five vehicles including the bus and injured at least 10 people.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers said the victims were taken to a hospital for injuries ranging from "very minor to very serious."
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said the person killed was not a passenger on the bus, which was going north on Rockville Pike, near Alta Vista Road, to Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg.
The busy north-south road (Route 355) runs the length of Montgomery County and is a major commuter route.
The accident resulted in a major emergency response with multiple ambulances and firefighters climbing in the twilight through open windows of the bus, which appeared to have plowed through a fence before coming to a stop.
A county police spokesman said emergency crews were still trying to extricate bus passengers about an hour after the accident but had removed the female driver, who was taken to the hospital.
A collision reconstruction unit was on site, but officials said they had yet to determine the cause of the accident.
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