A woman died and 43 children were taken to hospital after a truck driver 'fell asleep at the wheel ' and plowed into oncoming vehicles including a packed school bus . The incident occurred around 8.10am on Highway 97 just north of Orondo , Washington yesterday . It is the second time truck driver Kenneth Hahn has caused a collision by crossing the central line , police said . Carmela Cuellar Morales , the 22-year-old car driver , was declared dead at the scene . Scroll down for video . A woman died and 43 children were taken to hospital after a truck driver 'fell asleep at the wheel ' and plowed into vehicles including an oncoming school bus . Photos show significant damage to the right front side of the yellow bus ( right ) , with part of its roof caved in and all the windows smashed . The front half of the box truck ( left ) was destroyed . A number of students had minor injuries and two people traveling in the truck sustained serious wounds . The Orondo School District bus , driven by Pamela Robertson , 53 , was taking children to the elementary-middle school when the collision occurred . Photos show significant damage to the right front side of the bus , with part of its roof caved in and all the windows smashed . The front half of the box truck was also destroyed . Jasmine Gaona , a six-year-old pupil , told KOMO that when the bus crashed all of the children fell off their seats . She had to have her knee bandaged . The injured people were taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee , about 20 miles south of the accident . Tracey Kasnic , a chief nursing officer at the hospital , said most people were suffering from bruises and lacerations . Only a few had fractures , KOMO reported . The cause of the crash was not initially known . Temperatures in the area were above freezing and there was no sign of snow or ice on the road . But last night trooper Darren Wright said : 'We do suspect the driver fell asleep . ' Investigators will now test blood samples from Hahn for alcohol or drugs . A spokesman for the school described the situation as 'upsetting ' . The injured people were taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee ( pictured ) , about 20 miles south of the accident . Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal said it was the worst accident he had seen in his 30-year law enforcement career . 'Anything involving a school bus causes great concern - sad , sad , ' he said . Washington State Patrol reminded residents on Facebook yesterday to get enough sleep . It said : 'In honor of national ‪ # ‎SleepAwarenessweek‬ , March 2-8 , we would like to remind drivers to stay awake and alert behind the wheel . 'According to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety , people who sleep six to seven hours a night are twice as likely to be involved in a crash as those sleeping eight hours or more , while people sleeping less than five hours increased their risk four to five times . '
The incident occurred around 8.10am on Highway 97 yesterday . Police suspect truck driver Carmela Cuellar fell asleep at the wheel . Second time 54-year-old has caused a collision by crossing central line . Car driver Kenneth Hahn Morales , 22 , died at the scene . 43 students were taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee . Two people traveling in the truck also sustained serious wounds .