Updated: Recap Of Bemidji Bus Rollover

Bemidji Area School’s bus 25 was travelling south bound on Irvine Avenue when an east bound driver on South Movil Lake Road, drove through a stop sign striking the bus on it’s right side, causing the bus to lose control swerving onto the west side of Irvine Avenue rolling on its side into the ditch injuring many of the busses occupants.

Rescue crews quickly extracted the students from the bus, and those who appeared to not be injured were transferred to another bus. Two children were pinned inside the bus and had to be extricated by the Bemidji Fire Department. Five students were transferred by ambulance and one was air lifted to the emergency room at Sanford Hospital in Bemidji. The Bemidji School District says the students on the bus were traveling to different schools.

Residents tell Lakeland News that the traffic along this stretch of roadway has always been a problem, with people traveling at high speeds. Onlookers say that it was only a matter of time before a serious accident like this would happen.

The driver of the vehicle who struck the bus was rushed by ambulance to Sanford Hospital and is listed in serious condition.

The Bemidji School District and Sanford Hospital staff handled crisis care with assistance from the Upper Mississippi Mental Health Center and several area pastors.