BERLKEY — Taunton Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw reports that multiple Taunton Fire Department units responded Saturday evening to Rt. 24 southbound in the Town of Berkley after a school bus crashed.
Shortly after 10 p.m., police, fire and EMS units from multiple jurisdictions responded to a location after exit 11 but before exit 10 after dispatch centers received multiple 911 calls that an occupied school bus had crashed.
Approximately 20 passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash, ranging in age from very young children to elderly adults.
A mass casualty incident was declared, bringing in mutual aid in the form of fire trucks and ambulances from approximately a dozen cities and towns.
Occupants were transported to Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Charlton Memorial Hospital and Morton Hospital.
The severity of injuries varied, but injuries were not initially believed to be life-threatening.
Rt. 24 was shut down for more than an hour on Saturday evening with vehicles being detoured off the highway at exit 11. One exit was re-opened southbound shortly after 11 p.m.
The incident occurred geographically in Berkley, and the incident will be under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police.