Rider recalls Boston college-tour bus crash

BOSTON -- The scene could hardly have been more frightening for a Pennsylvania high school student and 41 others just returning from a tour of Harvard University when the bus she was on slammed into an overpass, injuring dozens of passengers.

"She was screaming and crying and saying that the roof was caving in and that she couldn't see anything, and she hit her head and she hurt her arm," said Teresa Merrigan, describing a call from her daughter Alana.

The Calvary Coach bus had just begun the hours-long journey back to the Philadelphia area late Saturday. The driver, Samuel J. Jackson, looked down at his GPS, looked back up and saw the bridge but was too close to avoid hitting it, Ray Talmedge, owner of the Philadelphia-based bus company, told WCAU-TV.

Thirty-five people were injured, Massachusetts state police said. One was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and three with serious injuries, the Boston Emergency Medical Services said. Some were trapped for more than an hour, state police said.

Authorities said the bus did not belong on Soldier's Field Road, which has a 10-foot height limit. Jackson, who was uninjured, "failed to heed signs" warning of the height limit, state police said, and he was likely to be cited. -- AP