Maine women's basketball team escapes injury after bus crash

(NECN: Georgetown, Mass.) - A bus carrying the University of Maine women's basketball team crashed on Interstate 95 north of Boston on Tuesday night, but the team and staff escaped serious injury.

Miraculously, the team's players, coaches and staff members -- 22 people in all -- were not seriously injured when the bus, headed southbound, crossed the median and the northbound lanes and went into the woods adjacent to the the northbound lanes.

However, Mass. State Police report that the bus driver was seriously injured and was airlifted to a Boston hospital.

A preliminary investigation, including witness statements, indicates the driver might have suffered a medical incident.

University of Maine athletic director Steve Abbott told NECN there were no serious injuries to the team or coaches.

Abbott said one of the coaches may have taken the wheel and then steered the bus to safety. It settled down an embankment just before a wooded area.
    
A state police car pulled off at the scene was also struck by another car but that driver was not seriously hurt.

At least some of the players are being treated at Beverly Hospital and their injuries appear minor, according to hospital spokesperson, Gerald MacKillop.

The Maine women's basketball team was scheduled to play at Boston University on Wednesday night. The bus was operated by John Cyr and Sons tour bus company of Old Town, Maine.

Heavy tow trucks were being brought in to remove the bus from the woods.