Speeding may have caused an accident Tuesday involving a school bus and a small car just before 4:00 p.m. in southwest Minnesota, about three miles northeast of Pipestone.

Five students from the Pipestone Area School District ranging in age from elementary school to high school were on board. Two students were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, but only one needed medical attention. The other three were not hurt and released to their parents at the scene.

The intersection where the accident happened is an uncontrolled intersection, meaning there’s no stop sign or traffic light. According to the Pipestone County Sheriff, the car was traveling south on 90th Avenue when it hit the school bus headed east on 121st Street at the intersection of the two streets.

“The passenger vehicle struck the mid section of the school bus, was underneath the school bus and was ejected out from behind the school bus,” said Pipestone County Sheriff Dan Delaney.

The bus ended up in a field, while the car remained badly damaged on the street near the intersection. All that was left of the Ford Probe was a crumpled mess of metal.

The bus driver told law enforcement he was almost finished with his route when the accident happened so his bus was nearly empty, with just five students left onboard.

“It’s very fortunate there weren’t more children on the bus or there could have been more injuries,” Delaney said.

The driver of the car was also uninjured. But the car’s passenger was rushed to a nearby hospital for severe injuries to her head. Later, she was flown to a hospital in Sioux Falls. As authorities worked to reconstruct the accident, they determined the car was most likely speeding.

“Whether its careless or reckless driving there are many different factors that can happen,” Delaney said.

The road was closed as officials mapped out the crash and collected information from the intersection, which also happens to be an element of this crash that officials haven’t ruled out as part of the cause.

“It’s an uncontrolled intersection, we’ve had severe accidents happen at intersections like this in the past,” he said.

The name of the passenger who was taken to the hospital in Sioux Falls has not been released. The driver of the car is 37-year-old Dion Lea Jones. The driver of the bus is 57-year-old Alan Cox.

The Pipestone County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating.