"Amazingly, all of the injuries appear minor," Detective Lt. Michael Colaneri said.
The driver of one of the vehicles, a 32-year-old Clifton resident, tried to flee but was stopped by police with a flat tire, Colaneri said.
It began when the Clifton woman's Subaru rear-ended a Mercedes-Benz that was stopped for traffic on southbound Terrace Avenue near Division Avenue, the lieutenant said.
The impact sent the Mercedes "into the opposite lane, where it went head-on into the bus," he said.
A traffic lieutenant arriving at the scene saw the Subaru driver take off and radioed ahead for a patrol unit to stop her, Colaneri said.
She received a summons for leaving the scene after stopping about a block away, he said.
"She told the patrol officer she had no idea what happened," Colaneri said.
Besides the three boys, a 61-year-old female aide from Hackensack was hospitalized, as was the Mercedes driver, a 27-year-old Ridgewood woman, he said. All were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, the lieutenant said.
The bus company -- First Student, Inc., based in the Camden County town of Lawnside -- "thought it was best to have the parents of the children go to the hospital," Colaneri said.
Where the bus was headed or coming from wasn't immediately clear, he said.
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