Five people injured when van rear-ends school bus

CASS LAKE — Five people in a van — including four children — were injured Friday morning when the vehicle rear-ended a school bus south of Cass Lake, the Minnesota State Patrol reported.

No injuries to the roughly 40 students on the bus or the bus driver were reported.

The accident took place at about 7:30 a.m. Friday. According to the patrol, the bus, driven by William D. Foster, 46, of Cass Lake, was stopped, red lights were activated and children had just entered the bus when it was rear-ended by a van driven by Alexandra M. Tanner, 38, of Cass Lake.

All five occupants of the van were transported to hospitals.

Raine Kentor-Lightfeather, 11, was flown to a hospital in Fargo, where she was held for observation. The patrol said she was expected to be released today.

Abrielle Ava Jourdain-Wakanabo, 3, was treated at Cass Lake Hospital and released.

Ava Jourdain-Wakanabo, 7, was transported to Sanford Hospital in Bemidji and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Aliana Jourdain-Wakanabo, 4, was treated and released.

The van was heavily damaged, and the airbag did not deploy, the patrol said. The accident remained under investigation.