ELMWOOD PLACE, Ohio — Six people, including three children and the driver of a school bus, were taken to local hospitals after two vehicles crashed in Elmwood Place before hitting the school bus, the village's fire chief said.
No children were on board the school bus; the children injured were in one of the other vehicles involved in the crash, officials said at the scene.
Officials said the driver of a silver Ford SUV was driving on Township Avenue at "an excessively high rate of speed" before they hit another vehicle that was trying to make a right turn on Sycamore.
After that crash, the silver SUV veered in front of a school bus, which then hit the van, officials said.
Elmwood Place officials said three children, approximately between the ages of 2 and 6, in the back seat of the silver van were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The driver of the school bus and the driver and passenger in the silver SUV were also taken to the hospital with injuries.
Officials said the person driving the van was seriously injured and all other injuries were considered not life-threatening.
“Nobody (had) seat belts, the children were not in car seats in the SUV," Chief Randall Newsom with the Elmwood Place Police Department said.
Officials stressed the importance of ensuring children and adults are always properly buckled up as crashes like this show that you never know what may happen.
“Had it been a regular car (and not a bus), this would have been a lot worse of an auto accident. We probably would have had a fatality," Newsom said.
Newsom added that because of the size of the bus, the gray SUV was able to go under the bus partially and the bus was able to absorb much of the impact.
Officials said they want the public to be reminded of the importance of having children in their proper car seats.
The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital's Comprehensive Children's Injury Center provides financial resources to help families who cannot afford car seats. Their website also provides a list of local fire departments that can properly install your child's car seats for free.
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