QUINCY - Dozens of students were injured, three seriously, when a Quincy school bus crashed on state Route 281, just south of Quincy.

The bus rolled off the highway while en route to school at about 8:20 a.m. Monday, according to Washington State Patrol Lieutenant Scott Martin.

Along with the driver there were 37 students on board at the time of the accident, ranging in age from kindergarten to 16 years old.

"Everybody was injured to some degree," Martin said, noting most were minor lacerations, bumps and bruises.

Three students suffered more serious injuries - one was transported from the crash site to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake via Medstar helicopter. Martin said another helicopter was on standby at Quincy Valley Hospital but was not used.

Ambulances drove between eight and 10 injured students to hospitals in Quincy, Ephrata and Moses Lake, Martin said. He did not know the extent of the injuries but said none were life threatening.

All students but one had been treated and released by Monday evening, according to Grant County sheriff's spokesperson Kyle Foreman, who said the driver and one student were still being treated at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

The crash occurred when the driver reportedly drifted to the right and overcorrected twice, causing the bus to leave the right side of the road, tumble down a shallow embankment and come to rest on its side near the edge of a field, Martin said.

Further details about the cause of the crash are unknown because investigators had yet to interview the driver on Monday, Martin said.

"We haven't had a chance because the driver was transported from the scene to a Wenatchee hospital," he said. "The road was bare and dry, 37 degrees, overcast with good visibility. I don't think weather was an issue."

The bus involved in the crash was part of a rural route picking up students from the George area, according to Quincy School District Superintendent Burton Dickerson. The students are taken to a central hub and transferred to buses to take them to their respective schools.

Grant County Fire District 3 crews responded to the scene of the collision along with dozens of Grant County sheriff's deputies and state patrol troopers. Several parents were also at the scene soon after the crash, reportedly alerted by students with cellphones.

A second school bus was used to shelter students at the scene before transporting them to meet their parents the Quincy Valley Medical Center, according to Dickerson, who expressed his concern for all involved.

"Our number one concern is for the safety of the kids and our hearts go out to all those involved in this morning's crash and their families," he said. "I know the transportation department staff ... are deeply concerned for these students. That's the number one priority of their job - keeping students safe."

School counselors will be made available for all Quincy students in the coming days, Dickerson said, and support information will be sent out to all district families.

Dickerson, who has been with the district for five years, said this is the first major bus collision he's aware of in the district's immediate history.