Thirty-seven people, most of them ages 6 to 14, were treated at area hospitals following a three-vehicle accident involving a school bus, tractor trailer and small car on Interstate 81 southbound in Hazle Township yesterday.

Emergency personnel were called to the area just north of the Schuylkill/Luzerne County line, near the Haul Road bridge, around 10:30 a.m. for a report of a tractor trailer rear-ending a school bus.The school bus, containing 39 children and eight adults, was the first of two buses en route to the JFK swimming pool in Pottsville as part of the Hazleton YMCA/YWCA's summer camp program.The back of the school bus was caved in, while the front of the tractor trailer sustained minor visible damage. The second bus was not involved in the crash.Captain Edward Hoke, Commander, State Police at Troop N in Hazleton, said a tractor trailer from Fox Transportation Company in Hometown rear-ended the back of the school bus as the bus slowed down - while nearing a construction area along I-81.Initial reports said 17 children ranging from 6 to 10, were treated for mostly minor injuries. The remaining children, ages 11 to 14, were not injured but still seen at area hospitals. All the children were evaluated at area hospitals due to possible emotional trauma from the crash.Leigh Ann Wiedlich, community relations coordinator for the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance, said 37 people were treated for injuries at Hazleton General Hospital. She added that 26 children, who were passengers on the bus, were evaluated in a makeshift triage area at the hospital; while an additional 11 children were treated in the hospital's emergency room.Responding were over a dozen ambulances from Tamaqua, McAdoo, Mahanoy City, Ryan Township, Hazleton and others.Depending on their injuries, some ambulance crews opted to transport multiple children per ambulance.A 30 year old female counselor, who was accompanying the children on the trip, was transported to the Harwood Fire Company in Hazle Township where she was then flown by MedEvac to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center near Allentown for unknown injuries. "From what I understand, her condition has been upgraded, and they believe she is going to be OK," said Hoke.Lori Kammerdiener, 50, of McAdoo, the driver of the bus, operated by Martin Bus Company, was transported to the hospital for unknown injuries.Unconfirmed reports stated the bus rear-ended a car from the impact of the crash; although Hoke could not confirm that. A report from the State Police Barracks in Frackville states that the driver, Michael Page, 27, of Annandale VA, of a 2010 Mazda sedan, and his passenger, Mayuree Voss of Owings Mill MD, were not seriously injured in the crash.Randy Smith, 51, of Drums, the driver of the 2004 Peterbuilt tractor-trailer, was also taken to the hospital for unknown injuries.The incident caused both southbound lanes of Interstate 81 to be backed up to Hazleton exits. Attempting to relieve some of the congestion, fire police from Hometown, Delano, McAdoo and Mahanoy City were dispatched to redirect traffic through SR309 in McAdoo and area roads.As of 12:45 p.m., both southbound lanes were open. Fire police remained at detour routes until traffic became less congested."It's extremely too early in the investigation to determine the cause," said Hoke during an afternoon news conference at Hazleton General Hospital.