A bus carrying the American Fork High School marching band crashed on I-15 in Idaho on Saturday night, killing one teacher and sending several students to the hospital.

Heather Christensen, woodwinds teacher, was thrown from the bus and killed. Band director John Miller said several students were rushed by helicopter ambulance to a hospital in Pocatello. Tim Osborne, whose son is in the band, said none of the injuries were life threatening.

The crash took place around 7 p.m. MDT on Interstate 15, about two miles north of McCammon and 50 miles north of the Utah border, as the band headed home to American Fork after a competition with several other bands in Pocatello. The bus driver began to feel sick, and reportedly passed out at the wheel. Christensen reportedly attempted to grab the wheel and stop the bus, but was thrown when the bus crashed.

Idaho state police said a preliminary investigation showed that the bus driver had a medical condition that caused the crash. The police did not immediately provide more details.

Some students had been trapped on the bus but were freed Saturday night. Three other tour buses carrying the rest of the band were headed home Saturday night, and a fourth bus to carry the students from the crashed bus was also en route.

A student who was on the companion bus says he saw at least five people being taken away in ambulances.

James Kimball, 16, a junior band member at American Fork High School, told the AP that he saw the bus swerve off the road and go on its side in a ditch off I-15.

"I was on the bus right behind it. We were watching a movie and I looked forward and saw the bus bouncing across the side of the road," Kimball told the Salt Lake Tribune in a separate interview. "The bus flew off to the side, bumped across a couple hills and rolled over."

The state police said two students with non-life threatening injuries were transported by helicopter to Portneuf West Medical Center in Pocatello. Other students on board the bus were taken to the hospital to undergo tests.

Distraught students sang church hymns after learning of the instructor's death, Kimball said.

Mike Huestis, the band's assistant director, told the Tribune that authorities worked to ensure that all people on the trip were accounted for and examined for injuries. Police said the bus had about 50 students, two adults and one driver on board.

Huestis traveled to the competition in his own car and was ahead of the two buses. He did not see the crash, he said.

Osborne said the band won the competition. "They had a very nice program," he said.

The school's bands have won the Utah state title for the past 19 years. The school band also performed at President George Bush's 2005 inauguration and marched in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York.

• The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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