Several teenagers were hurt when a charter bus carrying a youth group from Mary Mother of the Church in Burnsville overturned Saturday morning on an icy patch of Hwy. 52 southeast of Rochester, authorities said.
The bus, carrying 29 ninth- and 10th-graders, was heading south toward Lanesboro for a church retreat when it lost control just before 10 a.m. While maneuvering a gradual curve at 40 miles per hour, the trailer-hauling bus spun and flipped to its right side, said Lt. Tiffani Nielson of the Minnesota State Patrol. The crash happened on Hwy. 52 near 75th Avenue SE.
At least four students, ranging in age from 14 to 16, and two adult chaperones were taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-St. Marys campus with noncritical injuries. This bus was not equipped with seat belts for its passengers.
Those seeking medical treatment included Abigail Rae Ackerman, 16; Caroline Grace Dickhausen, 14; Hena Eleen Gerten, 14; Mallory Kay Nelson, 15, and chaperones Martin Joseph Scheider, 21, and Jacey Homan Kilby, 34.
The other teens and 51-year-old driver Randy Joseph were not hurt. "It's very fortunate there weren't more serious injuries," Nielson said.
Roads in Winona and Olmsted counties remain slippery after overnight snowfall, authorities said. Wear seat belts and drive with extra caution, they said.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648
