COLUMBUS, Ind. (WTHR) - One man was seriously injured Saturday morning when his SUV struck a bus head on in Bartholomew County.
The bus was transporting the New Castle girls gymnastics team to their Regionals competition at Columbus East High School.
The girls on the bus were checked out by medics at the scene and no injuries were reported.
One of the coaches was treated for rib pain, according to Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers. The coaches went to the hospital for further evaluation and has since been released.
The driver of the SUV, who has not been identified, had to be extricated, then flown to Indianapolis. His condition was not available.
Myers reported that the crash happened around 9:15 a.m. on State Road 46 east of Columbus and south of Hope.
Crash investigators from the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office and the Indiana State Police are working to determine what caused the crash.
The New Castle school superintendent, Matt Shoemaker, released this statement to Eyewitness News Saturday afternoon:
"Huge thanks to the administration and staff from Columbus East as they sent a bus to pick up the girls and set up a room at the high school where they could be reunited with their parents. We are also very grateful that the Indiana High School Athletic Association postponed the event until Monday so that our girls may compete. Lastly, many passengers in the bus and on the scene afterward stated that our driver's actions saved everyone on the bus from serious injury by her responsiveness in handling the bus during the accident. She has driven for New Castle Schools for nearly 40 years and her experience and skill certainly paid off today."
