HADLEY - Three elementary school students suffered minor injuries following a near accident involving their school bus on Roosevelt Street Monday morning, the district's superintendent said.

All three children were checked by emergency medical responders at the scene, deemed unhurt and ultimately transported to school, said Superintendent Nicholas Young. The parents of the three students were called from the scene of the accident, Young said. The school district were in the process of calling the rest of the parents this morning, he said.

The incident occurred sometime after 8 a.m. when the bus came to an abrupt stop to avoid striking a car that was backing onto Roosevelt Street, Young said. The driver of the car was reportedly not paying attention, forcing the bus to come to a quick stop, Young said.

There was no contact between the vehicles or damage to either one, Young said. The three injured students sustained minor bruises on their elbows when the bus came to a quick stop, he said. According to district protocol, the bus driver contacted the district and the bus company, Five-Star Transportation. Hadley fire and police departments responded to the scene, as did paramedics from Amherst, Young said.

The paramedics checked out the injured students and then took them to school in the ambulance while the remaining students were brought to school in the bus, Young said. All the students were sent to the elementary school cafeteria where the school nurse checked each of them.

"Obviously they are all little kids so the principal talked to them and the school nurse checked them out," Young said.

Hadley Police Chief Dennis Huckowicz was not immediately available for comment.