ANKENY, Iowa - Two Algona High School students were taken to the hospital with back and neck injuries after a chain reaction crash on I-35 Saturday afternoon near Ankeny.
WHO TV Channel 13 reports about 80 band students and staff were on the two school buses on a weekend field trip to Des Moines when a pickup pulling a boat slowed down suddenly on I-35 and was rear-ended by the first school bus, which was rear-ended by the second school bus..
"We would consider that moderate damage, what we saw when we arrived on scene,” Ankeny Fire Department Lieutenant Barry Schmidt said. There were no serious injuries.
The Algona Superintendent said the two buses were between stops on the trip when the crash happened.
“So today was a day trip for our high school band. They had stopped in Ames and done a indoor fun park type thing and then we were on our way down to the mall and then we are heading to Les Mis tonight."
"So we were on our way between that first stop and the mall and ended up in a car accident out here on the interstate,” Algona Superintendent Marty Fonley said.
The crash made some of the students anxious, but he Fonley said they still wanted to finish the trip as planned.
“They’re looking forward to the show still. The kids are pretty excited. We talked when we got here about do we want to go onto the show or do you want to just go home, do you want the buses to come down and get us to go home. Overwhelmingly the kids wanted to go on,” Fonley said.
Two students with minor back and neck injuries were taken to the hospital, but the others went on to the Des Moines Civic Center to see Les Miserables.