A few students were injured, none seriously. A passerby and emergency responders helped people off the bus and to safety.

For most of the afternoon and night, the weather around Marquette was fog and mist, with temperatures just below freezing, according to readings taken at Sawyer International Airport.

The away basketball game in Marquette had begun at 7 p.m. The Escanaba Area Schools bus, carrying 19 people — players from the varsity and junior varsity teams, two coaches and the driver — started back to Escanaba about 9 p.m.

While southbound on Highway M-553 in Sands Township near the Marquette County Fairgrounds, the school bus lost control on the slick road. It slid, “crossed the centerline, then went off the roadway to the left and overturned onto its side in deep snow along the shoulder,” according to the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, which was dispatched at 9:25 p.m.

After climbing out of the rolled vehicle, basketball players from Escanaba High School stand near the bus they had been traveling in on Tuesday night in Marquette County. (Photo courtesy of Dave Pepin)

About the same time, Rock resident Dave Pepin, his wife, son and son’s girlfriend were heading home after dropping off a friend’s vehicle and having dinner in Marquette.

At this point the road was icing up, Pepin reported, remarking he kept testing his brakes to see how responsive they were. Then he could see headlights tilted sideways and realized a vehicle was on the ditch. As he got closer, it became clear it was a school bus.

“I darn near put my truck in the ditch to hurry up and jump out,” Pepin said in a phone interview.

He said he asked a woman who also stopped if anyone had called 911 and if people were still on board. Told the bus was full, he ran to the back of the bus to help.

“They had already had the door open, but there’s like, hinges that prevented the door from going all the way. So I kind of pushed down the door and broke the hinges and got it so I could reach the girls in there,” said Pepin, noting a major concern of his was getting everyone off the bus in case fuel was leaking and a fire or explosion was imminent.

An ambulance and other emergency responders can be seen at a site on Highway M-553 in Sands Township near the Marquette County Fairgrounds where an Escanaba Area Schools bus transporting girls basketball teams went off the road Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy of Dave Pepin)

“I kept asking, ‘Is everybody okay?’ And of course, everybody was shook up, crying, upset and everything,” he said.

At least one girl had blood on her face and was near a broken window.

To evacuate, “literally just kid after kid after kid started reaching for my arms … (I was) grabbing them and pulling them out … Eventually, the coaches came out, and then lastly, the bus driver came out,” Pepin said.

Two girls were treated for injuries on site and released, while another two, ages 17 and 18, were transported to U.P. Health System-Marquette “for further evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news releases.

“The (Escanaba Area Public Schools) District dispatched additional transportation to the scene, and some parents who were returning from the game assisted by transporting students home,” Escanaba Superintendent Coby Fletcher’s office reported.

While being praised for stepping in to help, Pepin said he hoped anyone else would have done the same thing if they’d been in his shoes.

“I’m a father myself, and … I just hope that someday, when it’s my loved ones that are in need, that somebody’s there to do the exact same thing that I did,” Pepin said.

The school district’s news release also addressed concerns from the public about the bus being out in potentially dangerous conditions:

“Winter travel decisions during the athletic season can be challenging, particularly given changing local weather conditions and the long distances teams travel across the Upper Peninsula. When making these decisions, Athletic Directors collaborate and consider current and forecast weather conditions. At 6:17 p.m. on Jan. 6, the National Weather Service Marquette office indicated a chance of light freezing rain and snow, with impacts expected to be minimal and short-lived. Based on this information, travel continued as planned.

“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. We are grateful for the calm and professionalism demonstrated by our student-athletes and staff during this incident, and we appreciate the assistance provided by parents and first responders at the scene. The District is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this incident as part of our standard practice.”

As a larger model of school bus, the vehicle on which the team had been traveling was not equipped with seat belts. Because school buses’ size makes them safer than many other vehicles, belts are not required except for on small buses, according to authorities.

“Today’s school buses are built with safety in mind. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children are protected in large school buses by compartmentalization, a passive occupant protection system. This provides a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely spaced seats that have energy-absorbing padded seat backs that help to distribute and reduce crash forces,” states the Michigan State Police.

The Escanaba bus was towed Tuesday night by Crossroads Truck Repair of Marquette. It has minor damage.

MSP, Sands Township Fire Department, Sands Township EMS and UP Health System EMS also assisted at the site.

With the icy road conditions lasting into the morning, Escanaba Area Schools were closed Wednesday along with other area schools. It was the second time in three days that classes were called off due to weather conditions.