Car Hits School Bus in Hemet, Injuring Students

HEMET (CNS) – A school bus was involved in a collision with a sedan whose driver fled the scene on the west end of Hemet Friday, leaving three students injured.

The crash happened about 12:30 p.m. on North Cawston Avenue, just off of Highway 74, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The agency said a white Toyota Camry plowed into the Hemet Unified School District bus as it was approaching the highway.

The Toyota was apparently fleeing a separate traffic collision in a parking lot on Florida Avenue, which transitions to Highway 74, when it hit the bus, according to the CHP. Officials said that the driver immediately fled the location.

A description of the suspect was unavailable.

Hemet Fire Department crews reached the scene of the collision roughly 15 minutes later and found three youths aboard the bus with unspecified minor injuries. The bus sustained “moderate damage,” according a fire captain at the scene. The conveyance was nearly full.

The victims were taken to a regional trauma center for treatment.

As of 1:10 p.m., CHP officers and Hemet police officers were searching for the hit-and-run driver, while fire personnel and Hemet Unified School District officials were trying to arrange for the children on the damaged bus to be transferred to another one for transportation.

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