A school bus and garbage truck have collided on a New Jersey highway ripping apart the bus, knocking it on its side and killing multiple people, according to police.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said one teacher and one student had been killed while another 43 had been injured in the crash.
He said some of the 43 were in a critical condition and undergoing surgery.
He said 45 students were on the bus when it collided on Interstate 80 and that "everybody was injured".
The driver of the garbage truck survived the crash according to Governor Murphy.
A school bus on Interstate 80 following an accident with a garbage truck on May 17, 2018 in Mount Olive Township. Source: Getty
The school bus had markings for the Paramus School District.
Paramus Public Schools said it was taking students from East Brook Middle School to Waterloo Village, which is about five miles from the crash scene.
Students on two other buses on the field trip returned to the school about 80km from the crash site and were reunited with their parents, said Paramus police Commissioner Holly Tedesco.
Theo Ancevski said he was sitting in the fourth row from the front of the bus.
"I heard a scraping sound and we toppled over the highway. A lot of people were screaming and hanging from their seatbelts," he said outside Morristown Medical Centre, where he had been treated for cuts and scrapes.
He said many people got out through the emergency exit at the rear and others escaped through the emergency exit in the roof.
"A lot of people were injured," he said.
A school bus has collided with a garbage truck in New Jersey, US. Source: Getty
Police did not immediately comment on the cause of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information on the incident, a spokesman said.
Morristown Medical Centre spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich said they have received some people from the accident, but she did not have a number available and could not say how many were children.
About 10 victims were taken to St Clare's Dover Hospital and St Clare's Denville Hospital, according to communications director Patty Montgomery.
She said they were being evaluated and treated, but she did not have ages or conditions.
