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CHINO VALLEY, AZ - The driver of a school bus who was injured in a four vehicle crash Tuesday has been identified.
Janet Wahl, 53, of Chino Valley was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center after she was seriously injured in the crash with two school buses and two pickup trucks on Highway 89 north of Phoenix.
The driver of the first school bus, Michael J. Lewis, 60, of Chino Valley, was not transported from the scene.
A Wednesday news release said that a total of 13 people were transported to area hospitals for treatment and that 11 of those were students.
Several other students were taken by private vehicles to area hospitals for the treatment of minor injuries later that evening following the collision.
The wreck happened at about 4 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 89 and Road 4 North, Milepost 330.1, five miles north of Chino Valley, according to Officer Robert Bailey of DPS. Chino Valley is near Prescott.
Cynthia King, 49, of Chino Valley, was the driver and sole occupant of a white 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche which was directly in front of the first school bus at the time of the collision and was not transported from the scene.
Candace Criss, 48, of Paulden, was the driver of the green 2008 GMC pick-up truck which was in front of the Avalanche. Criss was transported from the scene to a local hospital for the treatment of minor injuries.
Bailey said it appears the driver of one pickup truck had slowed to make a turn onto Road 4 North.
The driver of a second pickup truck and a school bus slowed down behind the first truck, but the driver of the second bus lost control for an unknown reason and rear-ended the first bus, which caused a chain reaction collision, according to Bailey.
"It happened in seconds, I just heard the screeching of tires and the smell of rubber burning, it was not good," said Shelby Richardson who was riding on the bus that slammed into the one in front of it.
Richardson says she was sitting three seats behind the bus driver when the crash occurred.
"I just looked at her (bus driver) and she had glass all on her face and was moaning," said Richardson. "We were all just screaming and a we jumped out of the emergency exit."
Both buses, from Heritage Middle School in Chino Valley, had a total of 42 students onboard at the time of the accident.
Of those students, eight were transported to local area hospitals with minor injuries, according to Bailey. One of the students had to be extricated from one of the buses.
Richardson was one of the students taken to the hospital.
"My shoulder area hurts and the doctor said I have a bruised chest wall," said Richardson while standing outside Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott with her mom.
Bailey said the victims were middle school and elementary school aged children.
The buses were reportedly heading north to the town of Paulden.
The above picture from CVRNews.com shows the impact.
"When I reached the scene, my heart just sunk," said Wendy Paris, Shelby's mother. "I grabbed Shelby, hugged her, made sure she was OK, then I went to comfort the other children, just like a mother's instinct."
Highway 89 was closed in both directions for several hours due to the accident, but was reopened shortly before 8 p.m.
"Somebody's going to have to talk to these the kids, I think they're going to need counseling or something, but that is certainly a sight I never want to see again," said Paris.
Bailey said the actual cause of the accident will not likely be determined for several weeks to months.
