DENVER (AP) – A school bus carrying high school football players veered off a roadway and slammed into a concrete pillar at Denver International Airport, killing the driver and injuring 18 passengers, some seriously, officials said.
The bus had just picked up arriving members of the Legacy High School football squad Sunday afternoon and was circling back to the airport when it crashed. Airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman told the Denver Post that the bus carried 28 students and four adults.
The female driver died at the scene, police spokesman John White said. Ten people were hospitalized and eight others treated and released, officials said. The Post reported that the injured were 15 students and three coaches from the suburban Denver school.
Officials at Denver Health told KUSA TV station that they have five patients: two are in critical condition, two are in serious condition and one is in fair condition. The Post reported that five patients in fair condition were taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Police have not released any information on the cause of the crash, which occurred at 4:08 p.m., and White said they don’t know why the driver was returning to the airport after picking up the team.