A bus carrying children home from Jackson Preparatory Magnet school Tuesday struck and critically injured a man in St. Paul.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was hit at the intersection of Western and Aurora avenues about 3:15 p.m., said police spokesman Howie Padilla. His injuries were not life-threatening.

About 26 students were on board. They were not injured.

The man, thought to be in his late 50s or 60s, was taken to Regions Hospital.

Shaquill Robinson was walking home from the store when he witnessed the accident. The driver seemed focused on traffic, and turned quickly into the man, who was already halfway across the street, he said. The driver braked, stopping the bus on the man's leg below the knee, Robinson said.

"He was just screaming and moaning," Robinson said of the victim, who walked with a cane and tried to jump away.

Padilla said it's too early to speculate about what may have caused the crash.

The driver, Shoua Yang of St. Paul, is on administrative leave, said Jim Schiffler, president of the company that employs Yang, Sunburst Transit. Yang was scheduled to undergo drug and alcohol testing Tuesday, as required by law, although there were no signs of intoxication, Schiffler said.

Yang has worked for the company since 2009 and was cited in March for failure to yield to a pedestrian in St. Paul, Schiffler said. Yang was moving an empty bus at that time and was not on a school route. He was put on leave for the incident, and underwent training.

CHAO XIONG