Three children remain seriously injured after kindergarten bus crash

Three kindergarten children and a caregiver remain in hospital after a truck struck a kindergarten minibus in St. Marienkirchen am Hausruck, a municipality in the Ried district, ORF reported. Four children and two adults were injured in Thursday’s crash, with three of the children suffering serious injuries.

The accident has left the community deeply shaken. Mayor Günter Fisecker said that everyone in the town knew one another and could empathise with the affected families.

The crash happened near the town centre on the district road towards Eberschwang. Police said the 65-year-old minibus driver was crossing the road when she apparently failed to see the truck, which hit the vehicle on its side.

Four emergency medical helicopters were called to take injured children and adults to hospitals. Firefighters freed the minibus driver, who was trapped in the wreckage.

Jürgen Bauchinger, deputy district fire brigade commander, said some of the children were unresponsive, heavily dazed or in shock when rescuers arrived. He said the truck driver’s quick reaction may have prevented more serious consequences and that it was fortunate the minibus did not overturn.

The three seriously injured children and one caregiver were still in hospital on Friday. No further information about their condition was available. Police investigations into the exact circumstances of the crash are continuing.