Several students and a bus driver were taken to the hospital after two charter buses collided on Friday morning while en route to Carowinds for a class trip. The incident occurred around 9:40 a.m. on the ramp from Interstate 85 North to Ozark Avenue in Gaston County, North Carolina, according to Gaston County Emergency Services.

A spokesperson for the Pickens County school district confirmed that five students and a bus driver, who reported soreness, were taken to the hospital to be checked out by emergency medical services. Gastonia police further revealed that approximately 85 middle school students and 21 chaperones were aboard the two buses, all on their way to Carowinds for a class trip.

The collision reportedly took place when one of the buses rear-ended the other, causing it to veer off the interstate and crash into the treeline along the shoulder. The driver of the rear-ended bus sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was promptly transported to the hospital for medical attention.

According to a parent, Kitta Milam, the students on board were from Richard H. Gettys Middle School in Easley, South Carolina. It is located near Greenville and is approximately an hour and a half drive from the location of the accident. Milam's son informed her that one of his friends had suffered a bloody nose, and the bus driver was unable to move following the collision. Understandably shaken, Milam emphasized that her son, being just 12 years old, had never experienced a crash before.

In the meantime, parents are anxiously waiting for more information concerning their children's well-being and the logistics of their safe return. There are uncertainties of whether they need to drive to the crash site to pick them up or if alternative transportation arrangements will be made.

The incident occurred on the same day Carowinds was hosting the Festival of Music, and it has been revealed that the students on the buses were all a part of the sixth-grade band.

As investigations continue into the cause of the collision, authorities and school officials are prioritizing the well-being of the students and ensuring their safe return to their families.