Chino bus crash injures 9 preschool students

Nine preschool students and three adults were injured when a car suspected of running a red light smashed into a school bus near a Chino intersection this morning, officials said.

The bus, carrying children between 3 and 5 years old, was traveling south on Monte Vista Avenue when a white Infiniti traveling east on Eucalyptus Avenue crashed into it about 7:30 a.m., said California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Briggs of the Rancho Cucamonga office.

The bus then veered out of control and hit parked cars, Briggs said.

According to Fire Inspector Ryan Dacko with the Chino Valley Fire District, nine children, all fastened into in car seats, were injured in the crash.

The children were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. The drivers of the school bus and the car were transported for treatment of moderate injuries. It was not clear who the third adult injured was.

Dacko said the bus was chartered by a Chino Head Start preschool.

Authorities are still on scene investigating the collision, Briggs said.

susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com