DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A Dinwiddie school bus driver is facing charges after the school bus she was driving crashed into the woods and hit a tree along the 22000 block of River Road.
Amber Lackey was behind the bus when she saw it veer off the road, across a ditch and slammed into a tree.
"I go to the front of the bus and to see if the driver is still in the seat -- and she wasn't," said Lackey. "So all the kids were coming out -- and two of the kids were bleeding really badly from their heads."
Lackey's daughter was supposed to be riding the bus Monday morning and also saw what happened.
"I just really sad cause one person in my class got really, really hurt," said Caeleigh Owens, who was supposed to be on the bus. "[She] got something on her face and on her jacket and head. And that was just terrible."
State police said The bus was carrying 41 students headed to Sutherland Elementary.
CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil said 12 students were taken to Southside Regional Medical Center (SRMC). Eight of those students were taken ambulance and four driven by parents, Covil reported. Covil also reported five students were taken to another hospital. All the injuries were described as minor.
He said all the students, who range in age from six to 12 years old, were released by mid-afternoon.
Virginia state police said the school bus driver, 63-year-old Linda Moss, was charged with reckless driving for failure to maintain proper control.
Moss was not hurt.
