CRAWFORD COUNTY (KFSM) -- Nine students from Bentonville West High School were taken to Sparks Medical Center in Fort Smith and Van Buren for minor injuries after two charter buses collided on I-49 Monday (Oct. 29) around 11:30 a.m., according to the Director of Communications for Bentonville Schools Leslee Wright.
All of the students that were injured have been released from the hopsital, Wright told 5NEWS.
Students with the Bentonville West band were headed to a state marching band contest in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium on Monday when the crash occurred just south of the Chester exit on I-49.
According to Arkansas State Police, one charter bus collided with the second when it began to slow down, disabling both buses.
There were 83 students on those two buses that crash, according to state police. The other students not injured in the crash were bused back to Bentonville West.
The band has withdrawn from this evenings marching band competition at War Memorial Stadium.
All parents were notified of the crash.
Director of Communications for Bentonville Schools Leslee Wright released the following statement:
"We've been in communication with the students and parents affected by this incident to support them however we can. Their safety is our top priority and we're grateful to police and medics who quickly responded to care for them."
A video from the Bentonville West High School band's Facebook page shows students singing on the bus on the way to the competition.
An earlier version of this story reported that 14 students were injured.