MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Thirty-two students escaped serious injury yesterday morning when the Toyota Hiace mini-bus in which they were travelling overturned on the Greyground main road in Manchester.

Sgt Lancelot Frazer of the Mandeville police’s traffic department said none of the students sustained major injuries, but said they were all shaken up. He said they were all taken to hospital where they were treated and sent home. Sgt Frazer said 13 of the students, aged 14 to 17, had filed reports to the police.

With the exception of one, the students, all teenagers, were on their way to school at Porus High in the parish. The other student was on his way to Central High School in the neighbouring parish of Clarendon.

Paulette Higgin, guidance counsellor at the Porus High, said doctors recommended that some of the students stay home for an additional day to rest because they were traumatised. She said the school staff and the parents were all thankful that the students were not seriously hurt.

The Mandeville police theorise that the driver of the mini-bus, Carmelius McLean, of Osborne Store, Clarendon, may have panicked upon turning a corner and seeing oil on the left side of the road. The minibus fell over a precipice on the right side of the road.

The driver fled the scene after the accident when persons attempted to beat him.

There have been 601 motor vehicle accidents in Manchester this year, resulting in 17 fatalities.