A full-sized pickup rear-ended a stopped school bus about three miles east of Polson, sending three students to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Terry Rosenbaum says 10 or 11 students were on the bus at the time of the crash Monday afternoon.
Rosenbaum says the pickup was traveling at a “significant speed” when it struck the bus as it was unloading students. Both vehicles were damaged. The 19-year-old Bigfork man who was driving the pickup was evaluated for minor injuries and taken into custody. It was not immediately clear if charges were filed.
The patrol says it had received reports of a pickup truck driving erratically in the St. Ignatius area before the crash. The description matched that of the pickup that hit the bus.