Massachusetts

Bus hits and injures three students at college in central Massachusetts

All three were alert and communicating with first responders and are expected to survive

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A bus driver hit and injured three students Tuesday morning in Gardner.

Three students at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Massachusetts, were injured when they were hit by a bus on Tuesday morning.

Around 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, a Montachusett Regional Transit Authority bus struck three students in Lot B while attempting to turn near the bus stop, Mount Wachusett Community College said in a statement.

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School officials say the three victims were alert when they were taken to the hospital and have non-life threatening injuries.

Sam Nieves was on board the bus at the time of the crash.

"The bus seemed to speed up and jump the curb," he said. "Striking three students, one at a time, resulting in their bodies flying to the grass and shattering the windshield."

Nieves, a student at the school, says he's not sure why the driver lost control of the bus.

He says it was the regular driver he sees nearly every day, and there's never been a problem.

"It was like watching a horror movie," said Nieves.

He says the three students were hit from behind, and that it appeared they had just been dropped off in the parking lot. They were on the sidewalk heading to the school building.

The students who were hit are early college students from the Narragansett Regional School District. Some of their classmates, who are also taking college courses, witnessed the crash.

According to the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, the bus driver will have his license suspended, which is routine in a situation like. He was also tested for drugs and alcohol as part of the investigation.

The college said it is in touch with families and has offered support to those on scene and is also making counselors available throughout the day for anyone who needs additional support.

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