1 dead, dozens injured after bus crash rolls on Minn. highway, slides into ditch

A bus carrying students and their chaperones home from a band trip to Chicago rolled over on a highway on Saturday, killing one student and injuring dozens of others on board, authorities said.

The bus was traveling west on Interstate 94 when it rolled around 5:48 a.m. and slid into a ditch, State Patrol dispatcher Tom Aspling. He said 47 people were on board.

According to WCCO Radio, Allina Medical Transportation confirmed that one person died. A spokesman for the service didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Students and chaperones were taken to hospitals.

Gloria O'Connell, a spokeswoman for Allina hospitals, said 19 people were taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and that one of them, a girl, was in critical condition. She said nine students were treated and released at Buffalo Hospital.

Joni Pawelk, a spokeswoman for Monticello-Big Lake Hospital, said 17 people were taken to that hospital; 12 were treated and released, three remained at the hospital and two others were transferred, including one in critical condition.

The bus was one of two carrying students from Pelican Rapids High School, according to the western Minnesota school's Web site. The students on the second bus were unhurt and taken to a Catholic church in Albertville, the Web site said.