PALMDALE, Calif.-
A 90-year-old motorist went through a red light and rammed a school bus hard enough to knock it over, injuring nine children, authorities said.
One child was in critical condition, and the car’s driver was also taken to a hospital, officials said.
The bus was struck while carrying the learning-disabled students to the Palmdale Learning Plaza in the Antelope Valley northeast of Los Angeles, authorities said.
California Highway Patrol Officer Henry Roth said the elderly woman driving a Lincoln Continental failed to stop at a red light and struck the bus broadside.
“For unknown reasons she did not stop for that red light,” Roth told KTTV-TV. State troopers had not yet talked to her, he said.
One child was flown a hospital and was in critical condition, county fire inspector Sam Padilla said.
The injured children ranged in age from 8 to 13. One had a broken arm, and the others were taken to a hospital as a precaution, said Roger Gallizzi, superintendent of the Palmdale School District.
The bus driver and a special education assistant were not hospitalized.
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