INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — At least one student was hospitalized in Indianapolis with serious injuries after a South Putnam Community Schools bus and an SUV collided Wednesday morning at a rural intersection east of Greencastle, his mother says.

A news release from Indiana State Police said troopers responded about 8 a.m. Wednesday to the crash at County Road 50 South and County Road 525 East near the town of Fillmore, about 5 miles east of downtown Greencastle, the Putnam County seat. It’s about an hour’s drive west-southwest of downtown Indianapolis.

WISHTV.com first reported on the crash earlier Tuesday.

Police said 24 students were on board. Sgt. Matt Ames said the bus was making a turn when the Dodge Durango could not stop due to slick roads from rain the night before.

Gerald Skoog, 69, of Greencastle, drove the bus, and Mellissa Church, age 47, of Fillmore, drove the 2019 Dodge Durango.

State police reported that emergency medical services did not have to take anyone to the hospital, but News 8 later learned at least one student was hurt.

Andrea Baugh said she got a call from her 16-year-old son, Elijah Throckmorton, who was on the bus. At one point during the call, he stopped talking. Baugh said, “I wasn’t sure what was happening, and he wouldn’t answer me. So I was freaking out…. I was scared to death that something happened. It’s a phone call that nobody wants to get, you know.”

She says EMS offered to take her son to the hospital, but she chose to drive him herself. She said he remained in IU Health Methodist hospital in Indianapolis with four injured spinal discs; a fractured sacrum, which is a large, triangular bone at the base of the lumbar spine; and a broken rib. Doctors also found fluid in his head.

“He’s taken it really well. They came and put a brace on his upper torso because of the injuries and stuff.”

Baugh said they’re not sure when Throckmorton can come home. But she said his classmates, principal, and counselor visited, and that support has made a big difference.

“Friends are everything, and people who care about you are everything. I have a lot of support because I couldn’t do this right now … and Elijah and his friends are so happy. And that’s medicine in its own way,” Baugh said.

Police were continuing to review evidence to determine exactly what happened. In the meantime, they urged drivers to stay alert around schools buses. Ames said, “The most important thing is if you see those yellow buses on the roadways, you need to make sure you’re traveling with a lot of caution on the road and make sure you obey the speed limit and driving appropriately for the road conditions and are not driving while not distracted.”

News 8 reached out to the superintendent of South Putnam Community School Corp. via email and received an automated response that he was out of the office until Friday.

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