Several students were taken to the hospital Thursday morning after a school bus collided with a telephone pole in Pearl River.

The crash happened just before noon while the driver was dropping children off along Center Street.

Neighbors say they saw several students wearing neck braces and being carried out on stretchers.

The superintendent's office said in a statement that “four students were transported to the hospital for evaluation.” It says that the remaining students were either picked up at the scene or sent home on a replacement bus.

A spokesperson for Chestnut Ridge Transportation says they are working with the authorities to determine what caused the accident.

The school bus driver is off the job pending the outcome of the investigation.