SOMERSET, Texas – Bexar County Sheriff's Office accident investigators are trying to figure out what caused a driver to slam into the back of a school bus full of children Tuesday morning.
The crash happened around 7 a.m. on Highway 16 South near Smith Road in South Bexar County.
BCSO spokesman Johnny Garcia said the bus was carrying about 50 students to school in the Somerset Independent School District.
"It was stopped, loading students onto the bus, at which time the SUV struck the school bus from behind," he said.
The front of the SUV became lodged beneath the back of the bus, trapping the SUV driver for a while. Firefighters had to cut the doors off his vehicle to free him.
About a half dozen ambulances responded to the scene.
Paramedics checked out most of the students at the location, although a few did go to hospitals as a precaution.
"The kids are OK. They're safe," said Somerset ISD spokesman Maury Vasquez. "The ones that were transported by EMS, they also had non-life-threatening injuries."
Some of the students without serious injuries were loaded onto another bus to continue their ride to school.
A few students went home with parents, like Chris Zamora, who heard the news and rushed to the area.
"She's OK, but her neck hurts," Zamora said, talking about his 10-year-old daughter. "I mean, she's shaking and all that. I think she's scared, too."
Zamora said he and his wife were not prepared to see the SUV that hit their daughter's bus with its front-end heavily damaged.
He said the crash has left his daughter fearful.
"She's telling me, 'I don't want to ride in the bus anymore. I want you to take me to school,'" Zamora said.
The 17-year-old SUV driver, a Somerset ISD student, also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Investigators said while they don't know the exact cause of the crash, it's possible the wet, slick roads played a role.