A chartered bus carrying 51 people, most of them Virginia college students, overturned near Richmond late Sunday, injuring 35 of those on board.
Authorities said 34 of the victims suffered minor injuries, while one person was seriously injured. The injured were taken to five area hospitals.
Virginia State Police said that the bus was carrying students from Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and Radford University, as well as two drivers. The police statement said the group had been picked up in Richmond to be driven back to their respective campuses after Thanksgiving break.
Investigators said the bus overturned shortly after 7 p.m. EST on a ramp exiting the Powhite Parkway on to the Chippenham Parkway in north Chesterfield County. The police statement says the driver lost control on a curve of the ramp and the bus overturned on its side.
"It seemed like we were going way too fast," Emily Beneke, a Virginia Tech freshman, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Beneke said she fell between two seats on top of another passenger when the bus overturned. She was uninjured and was picked up by her mother.
Police say the bus driver, who also had minor injuries, has been charged with reckless driving.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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