7 students hurt when bus crashes into building in Alamance County; driver charged: NCSHP

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A bus crashed into a building while Alamance County elementary school students were on board.

Bus 342 from B. Everett Jordan Elementary School hit a building off Highway 87 near Judge Sharpe Road on Thursday morning, according to the school system.

There was a total of 18 people on the bus at the time of the crash and seven students were hurt. Four of them were taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The Alamance-Burlington School System told ABC11 on Thursday afternoon that two students have been released from the hospital.

Five others remain at UNC-Chapel Hill Hospital for treatment and observation.

Investigators said the 75-year-old bus driver traveled off the side of the road, hit a concrete driveway culvert, and then collided with a warehouse. He sustained minor injuries.

The driver was charged with failure to maintain lane control.

Angela Lloyd owns the warehouse and lives right next door to it. She ran over to help as soon as she heard the crash.

"It sounded kind of like a bomb went off," she recalled. "Had to use the emergency door to start getting kids off the bus."

The road was closed for nearly three hours as first responders treated those injured and investigators looked into what happened.

The bus driver stayed at the crash site, refusing to leave until every single one of the children were picked up by a parent or guardian.

The school district said the driver has been with the school district for a long time.

ABSS said Student Support Services staffers, including counselors and nurses, have been at Jordan Elementary all day. Additional support staffers, including the school counselor, are with the students and their families at UNC Hospital.

Additional staff members rode on school buses in the afternoon with students to offer comfort and support, ABSS said.