10/10/2007

Associated Press

A school bus carrying a high school volleyball team overturned Tuesday night, and all 31 people aboard were taken to hospitals.

None of the injuries were life-threatening. The bus was carrying students from Viburnum High School in southeast Missouri to nearby Lesterville.

A woman answering phones at the high school Tuesday night said all 31 people on the bus were taken to hospitals for treatment or evaluation.

Sgt. Marty Elmore of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the bus overturned around 4:45 p.m. in northern Reynolds County, about 90 miles southwest of St. Louis.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and the patrol was still trying to determine what caused the wreck. Elmore said most of the injuries were minor. One student suffered broken bones.

Still, the wreck led to a period of panic and chaos as many students were flown by helicopter to St. Louis hospitals or taken by ambulance to regional hospitals. Nine people were flown to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in suburban St. Louis.

All nine were in satisfactory condition, hospital spokeswoman Bethany Pope said. She did not know the ages of the patients.

Injured students also were flown to St. Louis Children's Hospital and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, but none of those students were seriously injured. Eleven people — one adult and 10 students — were taken to Salem Memorial Hospital.

Salem administrator Dennis Pryor said all 11 were in stable condition. "Cuts and bruises," Pryor said. "They've been coming in all evening."

Viburnum High School has about 220 students in grades 7-12.