HAZLE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A scary moment for local school students and their van driver after they crashed into a wooded area in Hazle Township.
The crash happened earlier Thursday afternoon and several students were sent to the hospital.
Hazleton Area School students are now safe and back with their parents after police say failed brakes led the school van to crash behind an apartment complex on Thursday.
Seven kids were taken to a nearby hospital after their school van crashed in a wooded area behind a Hazleton apartment complex Thursday afternoon.
State police say the brakes may have malfunctioned on the privately contracted van.
"It was, I have to get up, see if anybody was injured and if they were alright," said Hazle Township Fire and Rescue Off Duty Firefighter Tyler Ward.
Ward was inside the apartment complex with his grandmother when he saw the call come in.
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"So I ran around to see what was going on, how many people were hurt what was going on there. There was a lot of kids all over the place so I couldn't tell who was in there, who wasn't," Ward explained.
Police say the van came down this side of the apartment complex, veered off into the woods behind me and hit this tree, then crashed into the wooded area.
According to state police, the brakes of the van malfunctioned at the intersection of Alter and 14th streets.
The driver drove through several intersections until she was finally able to safely navigate the van into two trees behind the apartments and came to a stop.
"It could've been a lot worse, I mean, if that tree didn't stop them they could've went deeper in the woods. Thankfully it didn't go too far and they were all alright," Ward added.
The students suffered minor injuries and received care at Hazleton Lehigh Valley Hospital before returning home.
Police say the driver did not suffer any injuries and the crash is still under investigation.
