The driver of a pickup truck hit by a school bus filled with young children on McKeen Street Wednesday afternoon sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital, where he was later released.

Brunswick police responded to McKeen Street and Baribeau Drive at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday for a two-vehicle crash involving a Brunswick School District school bus and a pickup truck owned by Maine Natural Gas Corp.

At the time of the crash, the school bus was occupied by students from Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School on their way to an athletic event, according to a news release issued by the Brunswick Police Department Wednesday night. The bus was driven by Eugene Gagne, 69, of Brunswick. The truck was operated by Jason Bowie, 41, of Durham.

Deputy Chief Marc Hagan said this morning the school bus was headed north on Baribeau Drive, had stopped at the stop sign at the intersection with McKeen Street, then proceeded into the intersection and struck the pickup truck, which was traveling east on McKeen Street and had the right of way.

Bowie was transported to Mid Coast Hospital for minor injuries and was treated and released. None of the 31 schoolchildren, two chaperones or driver aboard the bus was harmed in the crash.

The school district arranged for a second bus to come to the crash scene, where it picked up all of the athletes and transported them back to Harriet Beecher Stowe. The children’s parents were notified of the incident.

No charges had been filed as of this morning.

Greg Bartlett, the assistant superintendent of Brunswick schools, said this morning both he and Craig Worth, the department’s director of transportation, were at the scene of the crash investigating and continue to investigate the incident, which is normal procedure.

He said Gagne is a substitute driver.

The students were headed to a cross-country event in Falmouth as part of an after school program through the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department, he said.

Bartlett said the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department did a great job of getting the kids back to Harriet Beecher Stowe and contacting parents and having an orderly procedure for releasing the children to their parents, “and we’re just grateful no one was seriously injured.”

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