A school bus carrying Needham students veered off the road in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood late Friday afternoon, causing alarm but fortunately no injuries, according to Massachusetts State Police. As reported by 7NEWS, the incident involving middle school and high school students participating in the METCO program happened at approximately 3:20 p.m. on Enneking Parkway near Gordon Avenue.
Following the crash, the students were swiftly evacuated from the vehicle, a reassuring outcome amidst the chaos of downed wires and a toppled utility pole makeshift repairs to the affected infrastructure, road closure that ensued, and bus extraction efforts which lasted several hours. A backup vehicle was dispatched by METCO to safely return the students to their homes as the roadway was shut down; however, the area has been cleared since the effort to tow away the bus was successful.
Boston police, who responded to the overturning of the bus reported by NBC Boston at around 3:11 p.m., have confirmed that the bus is not affiliated with Boston Public Schools. With aerial footage capturing the slanted bus beside a downed utility pole, the scene was steeped more in visual spectacle than physical harm, as no injuries were reported among the evacuated students and other occupants.
While parents were notified and arrived to collect their children from the accident site, investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing, multiple agencies including the State Police Collision analysis, reconstruction section have come together in hopes of piecing together what went awry on this otherwise ordinary school day. Needham Public Schools, when reached by 7NEWS, has not provided a statement regarding the incident as investigations are underway and no other specific details have been publicly shared at this moment.
