School Bus Accident in Rural Dixon Injures 5 Students, Driver

10:08 update via Bay City News Service: Five students were taken to hospitals with minor injuries after their bus overturned as the driver tried to pass a farm tractor near Dixon this morning, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

Both the tractor and the school bus were heading east on Hackman Road near Runge Road when the accident happened around 7:25 a.m., CHP Officer Chris Parker said.

Witnesses said the tractor was traveling at about 20 mph with its hazard lights on and the bus was traveling behind the tractor at about 35 mph, Parker said.

The bus driver crossed a solid yellow line to pass the tractor as it approached Runge Road, Parker said.

However, as the bus passed it, the tractor began to turn left onto Runge Road and the right front end of the bus struck the left rear tire of the tractor, Parker said.

The bus rode up onto the tractor's tire and overturned onto its left side, Parker said.

All the students on the bus were wearing seat belts, which prevented more serious injuries, Parker said.

The bus driver suffered minor to moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital. The driver of the tractor was not injured, Parker said.

Parker did not yet know the ages of the children, the school they were heading to or the identities of the drivers.

9:12 a.m. initial story posting: A school bus transporting five special-needs students to school this morning overturned on a rural Dixon road sending them, along with the driver to local hospitals with injuries.

The accident involved a large farm tractor and a small-version school bus, Dixon Fire Chief Aaron McAlister said. It was called in around 7:30 a.m., at Hackman and Runge roads.

The accident caused the bus to overturn on its side, McAlister said. Local farmers who were in the area, some who witnessed the accident, came to the assistance of the students and had gotten them out of the bus by the time that crews arrived on scene moments later.

"They did an excellent job in helping to move people off the bus," McAlister said.

The firefighters assessed minor injuries on the students and a possible moderate injury on the school bus driver, McAlister said.

The students along with the driver were transported to local hospitals including Vaca Valley Hospital, North Bay and UC Davis Medical Center.

At the time of this posting the California Highway Patrol was doing an investigation into the cause of the accident. We will post additional information once we know more about this wreck.

Editor's notes: A previous version of this story misstated that the students involved in this accident were children. They are adults who qualify for services from Dixon Unified School District. To report a correction please contact the editor at carlos.villatoro@patch.com