ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif. – A school bus carrying 11 El Rancho Charter School students crashed into a tree on a golf course Friday, critically injuring the bus driver and two students.
The incident occurred around 3:45 p.m., during the driver’s last stop of the day at the Anaheim Hills Golf Course.
Witnesses said the driver, 24-year-old Jerry Rupple, was driving around 70 miles per hour and not braking at all before the bus crashed, CBS Los Angeles reports.
In addition to Rupple and the other students’ critical injuries, three others suffered cuts, bruises and other non-life-threatening injuries.
Students on the bus told authorities that during a stop before the crash, Rupple got out to escort students across the street. It took him roughly five minutes to return to the bus and some students believe he wasn’t feeling well.
Officials are currently investigating whether the driver may have had a health crisis which caused him to crash.
