7 injured after school bus crashes into South Carolina store

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A school bus carrying elementary students crashed into a South Carolina store Tuesday morning, striking one student standing outside and sending seven people to the hospital, authorities confirmed.

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North Charleston police spokesperson Harve Jacobs told media outlets that the bus driver, four students on board the bus and two other students were sent to the hospital after the crash but that all the injuries appeared to be minor, The Associated Press reported.

The store, which was closed at the time, serves as a bus stop for high school students.

Post-crash photos clearly show the front of the bus inside the brick building up to its windshield.

According to police, the bus struck a 15-year-old who was on the sidewalk and then crashed into a Neighbor Store in North Charleston just before 8 a.m. EDT, WCSC-TV reported.

Jacobs confirmed to the TV station that the bus’s driver lost control of the vehicle as it was turning onto Montague Avenue from Luella Avenue. He also confirmed that the 15-year-old bystander’s injuries were minor but required transport to an area hospital.

Meanwhile, Charleston County School District officials confirmed that eight students from North Charleston Creative Arts were on the bus at the time of the crash. Four of those students and the bus driver required hospitalization, WCSC reported.

North Charleston Fire Department Assistant Chief Christan Rainey told the TV station that a second high school student was also waiting to be picked up outside the store and was struck by debris, requiring hospitalization.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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