CUMBERLAND — A woman was seriously hurt in a collision involving a school bus and two other vehicles on I-295 this afternoon.

The accident occurred at about 2:20 p.m. when an SUV driven by Rudolf Kaserman, 78, of Gorham, crossed the median and went into the path of the bus and another car, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Additional Photos

Scene of the accident involving a school bus on I-295 northbound near the Falmouth-Cumberland town line today. Tom Bell/Staff Writer

School bus passengers wait in the grass after the accident on I-295. The RSU 5 bus was carrying 30 children and six staff members who were returning from a field trip in Portland. Tom Bell/Staff Writer

McCausland said a husband and wife in the car that was struck by Kaserman were taken to a Portland hospital.

State police identied the couple as Marilyn Stookey, 79, and Gary Stookey, 72, of Bar Harbor. Police said Mariilyn Stookey suffered serious injuries and Gary Stookey was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

According to police, after Kasserman’s car hit the Stookeys, the Stookey car spun into the bus.

The bus was carrying 30 children and six staff members who were returning from a field trip to the Portland Ice Arena, said Russell Packett, the director of recreation and community education for RSU 5 in Freeport, Pownal and Durham. No one on the bus, which was driven by Karen Sylvain, 56, of Freeport, was injured.

McCausland said the site of the accident, near the Falmouth-Cumberland town line on the northbound side of I-295, was cleared about 90 minutes after the accident.
 

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