The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. The Orange Unified School District bus went up a roadside embankment on Nohl Ranch Road near Walnut Canyon Road. It ended up tilted sideways and was leaning against a tree. It's unknown what caused the driver to lose control.
"It came flying down the hill and went curb airborne and took out trees along the way," said witness Andrea Shurtz. "The kids are screaming for us. [We're] trying to get them to jump out but the slope is so horrible and people just came running from everywhere."
Firefighters had to extricate the driver, who was trapped inside the bus. Officials say the driver and two students remained hospitalized in serious condition Thursday night. Three students were treated and released from the hospital. The remaining six students did not appear to have significant injuries.
A 13-year-old boy on the bus said the students were from El Rancho Charter School. The bus driver's father told Eyewitness News that his 24-year-old son has been a full-time driver since 2010.
Nohl Ranch Road, between Stage Coach Road and Golf Glen Drive, was closed during the investigation.
