Dozens of students injured in bus crash on Bustamante…

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Nakinskie Robinson reports

More than 50 students were rushed to hospital on Wednesday morning after a bus, believed to have been overloaded and out of control, crashed along the Bustamante Highway in Clarendon.

The bus was travelling from May Pen to Garvey Maceo High School about 8 o'clock.

The collision resulted in chaotic scenes along the highway and gridlock as motorists attempted to navigate the area.

Twisted metal, frightened students and frantic scenes was the view along the Bostamanti Highway after scores of shaken students were dangerously close to never hearing their names on a class roll call again.

Investigators say the bus driver was operating the vehicle recklessly before the crash.

It's reported that he ran a red light in the vicinity of the toll road intersection and slammed into a median after hitting two cars.

Authorities say a preliminary examination of the vehicle found no faults with the brakes that would explain the incident.

But a parent, who spoke with Radio Jamaica News, said the driver blamed a defective braking system.

"He said, 'Mommy, honestly to tell you, is the brake, the brake fail me.' And him say him cyah do too much talking because him don't want to black out. Honestly, when them call mi... mi tun fool, trust me. Start crying and everything. I always tell him to take the JUTC because, where I live, he can get the JUTC from there to the school," she explained.

Another parent explained that her daughter sustained injuries during the incident.

"Her mouth, her two knees, her back and her waistline. She's still crying and she's still in shock at this moment because she's traumatised, because she never been in anything like this before. So they have to have her in there, stable at the moment. Now, she's about to go to the X-ray and do some more tests so we can do some follow-up to find out what is going on with her," said the anxious parent.

The packed Toyota Coaster bus has a passenger capacity of 28. However, 55 students turned up for treatment at the May Pen Hospital, almost twice the bus's legal capacity.

The students have been medically assessed and treated.

Up to news time, some have been released.

Dozens of students injured in bus crash on Bustamante Highway

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