A school bus packed with approximately 40 elementary students slid off a county road Wednesday morning south of Woodstock, Ont., sending four kids to the hospital.

The crash resulted in minor injuries, police said, from the scene at Middletown Line and Old 14 Road, south of the city, where the bus could be seen resting nose-first in the ditch.

“I understand that some of our first responders, firefighters and paramedics may have had children on that bus. And again, as a father, your heart sinks when you see something like this first thing in the morning,” OPP Sergeant Ed Sanchuk said.

“The good news is that there are only minor injuries to report.”

Still, police said the students were shaken but did their best to be brave until parents and another school bus arrived to take them to school. They credit a number of Good Samaritans who stopped to help immediately following the crash.

Freezing rain

Roads in Oxford County were slick with the temperature hovering around freezing when the single-vehicle crash happened at around 9 a.m.

Police had been warning drivers throughout the morning about the risk of freezing rain. Buses in the region had been running on schedule.

“Again, folks, freezing rain is here. The roads are gonna be slick, slippery and icy, so please reduce your speed and slow down,” Sanchuk said.

OPP were asking witnesses to come forward as the investigation into the crash continued.