A bus struck a highway barrier on Interstate 35 early Saturday morning, injuring 18 people, including one seriously.
The charter bus left Dallas and was headed to Oklahoma City when it crashed just after midnight near Sanger, said Trooper Lonny Haschel of the Texas Department of Safety.
The bus driver told authorities that a vehicle swerved in front of him and he took evasive action by pulling into the inside shoulder of the highway. The bus struck the concrete barrier and came to rest on the grassy median, Haschel said. It didn't overturn, but five passengers were ejected through side windows.
Eighteen of the 33 bus passengers were taken to three area hospitals with varying degrees of injuries, including one who was airlifted to Fort Worth in serious condition, Haschel said. The other passengers were taken to two hospitals in Denton.
The hospitals declined to release condition updates Saturday morning.
Fifteen uninjured passengers were taken to a Sanger church. The bus is configured to carry 51 passengers, DPS said.
Haschel said the 2008 Vanhool charter bus belonged to Renacimento LLC, of Dallas. After stopping in Oklahoma City, it was scheduled to travel to Little Rock, Ark., he said.
