Canada

Photo: CTV

RCMP said the driver of a minivan went off the road and drove into the side of Racette Jr. High School in St. Paul around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

The driver has been taken into custody.

Police say the vehicle went through the walls of a classroom and that one child received serious injuries after being pinned beneath the minivan.

That child had to be airlifted to hospital in Edmonton by STARS air amublance.

Kerry Williamson with Alberta Health Services tells CTV News that two other people had to be flown to hospital in Edmonton as well - by fixed-wing aircraft.

Williamson said five others were taken to hospital in St. Paul with minor injuries and three were later discharged.

Williamson cannot say whether the people injured were children or adults, however RCMP say the two patients who remain in St. Paul hospital are students and the two other patients who were flown to Edmonton were also students.

Police and emergency crews are on scene at the school and a police investigation is underway.

The RCMP Collision Crash Team - which investigates serious motor vehicle accidents - is also on scene.

Mike Vanderhoek witnessed the aftermath of the crash and described the scene to CTV News.

"They had the whole street blocked off, they are keeping people pretty far away," Vanderhoek said. "STARS was in St. Paul so everyone was kind of worried, a lot of the town was checking it out. It's a pretty small community so they had it all taped off and you can see that it went right through the window, it missed the struts and everything, it went straight through the glass."

St. Paul is located about 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton