More than a dozen students were rushed to the hospital after three school buses were involved in a chain-reaction crash in Streetsboro Wednesday.
There were 19 middle and high school students, between the ages of 11 to 18, who were taken to University Hospital Portage with minor injuries after the crash. A driver was also hospitalized.
Holden Peelman, 16, was in the middle bus that was rear-ended by a bus and crashed into the bus in front.
He said his head and neck whipped forward and hit the seat, leaving him shocked and sore.
"When I checked my mouth, it was bleeding," he said.
In the midst of the panic, Holden's first reaction was to text his mother to let her know he was OK.
"It was scary, your kid gets in an accident," Shanon Peelman said, shaken as they both left the hospital Wednesday night. "But everything is good."
Streetsboro High principal tells me some kids are still at hospital being treated for MINOR injuries like whiplash but mostly scared.
— Homa Bash (@HomaBash) January 13, 2016
One family so thankful son wasn't injured badly in crash. His bus was in middle--hit in back by bus & hit another pic.twitter.com/PO1LLzxmLb
— Homa Bash (@HomaBash) January 13, 2016
The crash happened at about 2:49 p.m. on Page Road between Frost Road and Pike Parkway.
The road was dry at the time and the cause of the crash is still under investigation, police said. The buses are equipped with cameras.
"To have that crash like that, they would have had to have been closer than they should have been," said Lt. Tricia Wain. "I don't know what the bus driver was doing that caused that driver to cause the collision."
Streetsboro School District Superintendent Michael Daulbaugh released the following statement to newsnet5.com:
At approximately 2:49 pm three Streetsboro City School District buses transporting middle school and high school students were involved in an accident on Paige Road. A total of 20 students and one driver were transported to area hospitals with what appears to be minor injuries. At this time the cause of the accident is under investigation by the Streetsboro Police Department. We would like to thank the Safety Forces in the Cities of Streetsboro, Mantua, and Aurora for quickly securing the scene and taking care of our students and staff.
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