It happened just before 3:00 p.m. as the driver, 49-year-old Charles Wynn, was taking students home from Lewis Chapel Middle School.

Officials say 18 students were on board bus 511 at the time of the crash. One student from the bus and a child from the SUV were transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Three other students were later taken to the hospital by parents.

"All the injuries seem to be bumps and bruises, nothing major at this time," Cumberland County Transportation Director Al Miller said.

Officials say when authorities arrived at the scene of the crash, the driver of the SUV was determined to be at fault. However while at the scene, police say they smelled alcohol on Wynn's breath and issued a field sobriety test. He blew a 0.20 -- well over the legal limit of 0.08.

Wynn has been charged with driving while subject to impairing substance, operating a school bus after consuming alcohol and driving while impaired while operating a commercial vehicle.

"For a person to come to school drunk ... I wish I had the answer," Miller said.

Officials say Wynn is a substitute bus driver for Cumberland County Schools and is also employed as a night custodian at 71st High School.

School officials say Wynn is suspended pending an investigation.

Meanwhile, the driver of the SUV, 29-year-old Travis Hunter, has been charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and operating a vehicle with a revoked license

Legal news for Oregon truck accident attorneys. A three-vehicle collision on Highway 97 near Madras left a woman in critical condition.
The Oregon State Police are investigating a crash involving a 18-wheeler, a Dodge 3500 and a Honda Civic.

Madras, OR—A violent collision on Highway 97, just north of Madras, critically injured a woman after her car was rear-ended by a pickup truck, causing a crash with an oncoming 18-wheeler. The multiple vehicle collision occurred on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, around 12:00 p.m., as reported by KTVZ.com.

The Oregon State Police (OSP) reported, Cathyrn Downing, 61, of Madras was driving a 2007 Honda Civic northbound on Highway 97, when she stopped to make a left turn onto Cherry Lane. A 2000 Dodge 3500 pickup truck then slammed into the back of the Honda, catapulting it into the oncoming lanes. A southbound 2008 Kenworth commercial truck carrying a trailer loaded with grocery items struck the Honda head-on. Downing’s vehicle was so badly damaged that responding rescue crews had to cut the roof off the car to extricate her from the wreckage. She was rushed by ambulance to Mountain View Hospital in Madras, where she was airlifted to

St. Charles Medical Center in critical condition.
The driver of the pickup truck, Katherine White, 81, of Madras, and the driver of the semi-truck, Gurwindler Gill, 34, of Citrus Heights, Calif., were both uninjured in the wreck. All three drivers were reportedly wearing their seatbelts at the time. A full investigation is currently underway. No traffic citations have been issued thus far.

OSP troopers from Madras, Prineville and Bend responded to the wreck and are working together in the investigations. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Jefferson County sheriff’s officers, fire medics and Jefferson County EMS also responded to the scene.

Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Oregon truck accident lawyers.