A Palm Beach County school bus crashed into a pickup at 6:35 a.m. Thursday, trapping all four of the truck's occupants inside.
The bus was carrying 10 students to Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School when it struck the pickup on West Lantana Road, near Hagen Ranch Road. A Palm Beach County Fire Rescue spokesperson said the first of 19 fire trucks arrived within four minutes of the crash to find both the bus and pickup "heavily damaged," though neither the bus driver nor students needed to be hospitalized.
Those trapped in the truck were critically injured. While some first responders worked to cut them free, others reached through the crushed and mangled metal to treat their injuries.
Fire Rescue did not immediately say whether the occupants were conscious.
The last of the four took nearly an hour to free. All were taken in ambulances to a trauma center in Palm Beach County, though the agency did not specify which one.
In a statement to parents afterward, Principal Oscar Otero reaffirmed that all 10 students are safe. He said they were driven from the crash site to school, where they were met by a school nurse.
"Because experiencing an incident like this can be unsettling, counseling resources and support services are available on campus today for any student who may need to speak about their experience," Otero said.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation. An agency spokesperson was not immediately able to share the ages or identities of those in the pickup, nor the suspected cause of the crash.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: School bus crashes, rescuers use 'jaws of life' to free 4 from truck
