A bus carrying members of the Washington marching band rolled over on its way from Seattle to Spokane in advance of Friday’s Apple Cup against Washington State, according to John Bryant of the Washington State Patrol.
There were no serious injuries reported, but between 20 and 25 students were taken to local hospitals. There were 56 people on the bus, which ended up on its side on an icy highway just outside of the city of George, about 130 miles west of Spokane.
“The injuries reported were cuts, complaints of general pain and back pain, but the injuries are not believed to be critical,” University of Washington spokesman Victor Balta said in a statement. “The University is doing everything it can to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff and to get them safely back on their journey to Pullman.”
It is unclear exactly what happened for the bus to lose control, but icy road conditions and fog played a factor, Bryant said.
The bus was one of three carrying band members and chaperones to Spokane, where they were going to spend the night before traveling to Pullman on Friday.
Bryant was unsure if the traveling party still planned to reach Spokane on Thursday, and authorities were looking into finding lodging locally.