Bus filled with campers rolls over; two injured

Two people were injured yesterday when a bus full of campers headed for a day of fun at a waterpark flipped over on a Maine highway, police said.

The bus was traveling south on Route 295 near Topsham at about 8:45 a.m. when the driver lost control of the vehicle, which spun, crossed the highway, hit the grassy median, and flipped onto its right side, State Police Major Randall Nichols said.

''It's really a miracle that there were no fatalities, frankly," Nichols said.

The bus, which was full of 46 12- and 13-year-olds, was part of a convoy of seven buses and 11 vans carrying about 350 campers, ages 7 to 16, counselors, and personnel from Camp Modin, a Jewish overnight camp in Belgrade, Maine, to Funtown Splashtown U.S.A., in Saco.

Benji Bernstein, 12, of Montclair, N.J., was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland with a head injury, and counselor Yacinda Parcell, 21, of Australia, complained of pain and was taken there by ambulance, camp and police officials said. Sixteen ambulances responded from eight towns to take the remaining occupants to five hospitals for evaluation, Nichols said. None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

Officials were considering whether to charge the driver -- Debra Mosier, 35, an employee of Poland's Bus service of Cornville -- though there was no sign of an ''egregious violation," just inattention, Nichols said. The bus was in the right lane and kept going straight as the road curved slightly left, he said. Mosier overcorrected and lost control, he said.

Police do not think alcohol played a role in the accident, but Mosier was given a blood test, Nichols said.

The children -- most of them from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut -- were not wearing seat belts, Nichols said.

Donn Poland, owner of the bus service, said he would decline comment until he had a chance to speak with Mosier. Camp Modin, which was founded in 1922, has been using the bus service since 1951, camp director Howard Salzberg said.

Despite the frightening incident, the children quickly resumed their normal activities back at camp, Salzberg said. ''Kids are very resilient," he said. ''Their focus is, 'Can somebody go find my iPod?' and 'When are we going back to the amusement park?' "