LIBERTY, Missouri (AP) -- A school bus crashed into two other vehicles as it approached an intersection Monday morning, killing two people in the cars and injuring more than 20 children.
Both other vehicles were nearly demolished. Missouri Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angie Weddington confirmed those killed were in the cars.
"Obviously it's a worst nightmare, basically," Liberty School Superintendent Scott Taveau said. "This is a community that cares about kids and cares about education. This is a tragedy for this community."
Two people were critically injured, Liberty City Administrator Patty Gentrup said, but she could not say if they were children.
Twenty-three students were taken to hospitals, with 15 others released to their parents, Taveau said. He said he had no information on the children's conditions.
The bus was taking kindergartners through fifth-graders to Ridgeview Elementary School when the crash happened about 8:30 a.m. Police said the cars had apparently stopped at a stoplight when the approaching bus suddenly veered to the right and slammed into them. The bus driver was not injured.
Workers from a nearby Hy-Vee grocery store rushed to help.
"Why don't they have safety belts on school buses?" Vickie Whattoff, one of the workers, asked. "A lot of the injuries were from kids flying forward and hitting the seat in front of them."
Another worker, Kristin Bosak, said the children were crying for their parents and several were bleeding badly.
Frantic parents showed up at the scene despite pleas from the district that parents stay away.
