School Bus Catches Fire Near South Laurel

Two children were sent to local hospitals this morning for smoke exposure after their school bus caught fire along the Baltimore Washington Parkway, according to Prince George's County Fire/EMS officials.

The incident happened near the northbound Powder Mill Road exit by Beltsville sometime after 10 a.m.  Firefighters from Greenbelt and Beltsville responded to calls for services and encountered the school bus well involved with fire, according to Mark Brady, Fire/EMS spokesman.  

Approximately 30 eighth-grade students, and two adults, from the KIPP DC Will Academy in northwest Washington, D.C. were on the bus traveling to a field trip at the time, Brady said.  Two students were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation of exposure to smoke but no major injuries were reported.

Brady told The Gazette that the cause of the fire has not been determined, but was likely caused by an engine malfunction. The bus is totaled, he said, and that as of 12:30 p.m. the highway was likely closed because of diesel that spilled from the bus. The highway has since reopened.