Boca Ciega Students Hurt in Bus Crash

Several Boca Ciega High School students were hurt Thursday morning when the school bus they were riding in hit a traffic pole in the school parking lot.

Lt. Howard Coombs of the Gulfport Police Department said that there were 28 students and one driver on the school bus when the crash occurred at about 7 a.m.

Of the students, more than half reported having some type of minor injury.

"Everyone who was sitting down, face forward, had some type of minor injury," Coombs said.

Of those who received minor injuries, six were taken to the hospital for treatment. Coombs said that three were taken via abulance and three were taken by their parents. They complained of back and neck injuries.

At noon, Boca Ciega High School Principal Michael Vigue said at least two students who recieved treatment at the hospital returned to school.

Coombs said that speed was not a factor in the accident. The driver was making a left turn and hit the pole, he said. The bus kept going, with the pole scraping the side and getting lodged between the double rear tires. The back axel of the bus was ripped off the vehicle.

The 50-year-old female bus driver, who is from St. Petersburg, was not cited, according to the police.