A school bus driver has been praised for keeping control of his vehicle after two of its back wheels fell off as he drove 80 children home.
Police say the accident happened at Medowie in the New South Wales Hunter Valley on Monday afternoon.
The rear left wheels became dislodged as the bus approached a sweeping left hand bend. One was flung across the road towards oncoming traffic before rolling into bushland; the other shot into a nearby dam.
"It appears that the skill and quick actions by the bus driver, going down in gears, kept the bus on the road even though the rear axle was digging into the roadway," a police spokesman said.
The bus came to a standstill in the middle of the road, and was later towed away.
The driver and children were uninjured, despite the drama.
"I believe that the driver used great skill in keeping the bus from loosing control," Sergeant David Hanna said. "With 80 school children on board, I hate to think what could have happened."
The incident has been reported to the Roads and Traffic Authority's heavy vehicle inspectors.
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