Twenty Bates College students were saved Monday afternoon when their bus began sliding down a “very steep” bank.
The students were traveling between Mooselookmeguntic and Richardson lakes on South Arm Road in Township C when the bus pulled over to the side of the road to allow another vehicle to pass, according to the Sun Journal.
But once the vehicle passed and the bus driver tried to resume traveling down the narrow gravel road, the bus’ right rear tire couldn’t get traction and began sliding down a “very steep” bank, the Sun Journal reported.
That left the bus teetering over the 50-foot embankment.
A nearby homeowner secured the bus with a chain so the students, who were on a first-year orientation trip in the Rangeley Lakes Region, where they were canoeing, could safely get off. The bus was then secured with additional chains to keep it in place until a wrecker could arrive and haul it out, according to the newspaper.
