7 students, drivers, taken to hospitals after school bus and tractor-trailer collide on U.S. 70 in Johnston County, North Carolina

Nine people were taken to three area hospitals Wednesday morning after a school bus and a tractor-trailer collided on U.S. 70 in Johnston County, officials said. The incident happened about 7 a.m. near the highway’s intersection with Uzzle Industrial Drive, officials said. The bus had 13 students on board. Seven students were taken by EMS, along with the drivers of both the bus and truck. The bus, number 63, was transporting students to Smithfield Middle School. Four EMS units were sent to the scene along with firefighters from Wilson’s Mills and Clayton and several police officers, Johnson County emergency services dispatchers said. Patients were taken to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh and Johnston County Medical Centers in Smithfield and Clayton. The front of the tractor trailer truck was caved in by the accident.