Students feeling nauseated on school bus sent to hospital, officials says

Nearly a dozen sixth-graders in Huntington Station were released after being evaluated at a hospital because they said they said they felt nauseated after riding a small bus to school at the Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center, officials said on Friday.

"They were all examined and released" from Huntington Hospital, a Suffolk police spokesman said by telephone. "They don't know the cause, but they reported feeling sick, they were transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution, and they all have been cleared and released."

South Huntington Schools Superintendent David P. Bennardo, who went to the hospital to see the children, said by telephone:  "The good news is their blood levels were good, and their affect was good." He added:  "When I was there, they were all choosing to go back to class."

The first three children to fall ill reported smelling fumes. Firefighters did not find leaks when they examined the bus, which was immediately taken out of service, he said, and will be analyzed by transportation officials on Monday.

None of the children appeared to require immediate treatment when they arrived at the start of the school day, he said.

“We had our nurse check them out, there were no outward signs of distress,” he said, referring to the first three students.  

School officials then determined the trio should be examined by paramedics; about six of their fellow travelers then reported similar symptoms, leading officials to send the entire group who rode together on the bus to the hospital.

"You trust the kids to report to us, and when they did, the system worked," the superintendent said.