Charlotte Small Elementary Grade 1 students are safe and a bus driver is in unknown condition after suffering a medical episode en route to a June 11 field trip.

The driver was transporting 27 children to Discovery Wildlife Centre near Innisfail when the episode occurred. Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) deputy superintendent Greg Wedman confirms, the episode caused the bus to veer out of the lane and hit the ditch on Hwy 11. between Benalto and Sylvan Lake.

“Everyone was quite fortunate that the bus was able to stop before getting any further or heading into oncoming traffic,” he says.

Emergency services were called to the scene. WRSD officials say all students were assessed and cleared by ambulance personnel before carrying on.

Another bus was then dispatched to the scene and the students continued on their way to Innisfail.

To provide assistance to students and parents who may have felt shaken up by the incident, Wedman says the school’s family wellness councillor, as well as principal Cheryl Kalev joined students at the park.

The rest of the day went ahead incident-free, says Wedman.