Crash involving school buses shuts part of I-30 in central Arkansas for 1 hour, postpones playoff football game

Three school buses and one other vehicle crashed on Interstate 30 in central Arkansas about 4:30 p.m. Friday, shutting part of the road for more than an hour, authorities said.

The buses were passing through Benton while taking students from the Helena-West Helena School District to a football game against Arkadelphia High School, Arkansas State Police spokeswoman Liz Chapman said.

A few students were treated for minor injuries at nearby hospitals, according to the spokeswoman.

The Helena-West Helena School Board president wrote in a social media post that the Benton School District was assisting in the transportation of the students and staff members.

"Right now, we are just thankful that there are no life threatening injuries," Andrew Bagley said on Facebook.

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The first-round matchup between the two Class 4A teams was set to begin at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Arkansas Activities Association wrote in a Facebook post 5:30 p.m. that the game was postponed due to the wreck "involving Helena-West Helena's football team." The organization said more information will be given at a later time.

An alert from the state Department of Transportation stated the inside and middle westbound lanes were shut at mile marker 116 in Benton as of 4:40 p.m. They were reopened at 5:45 p.m., according to the agency.

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