3 children injured after truck and school bus collide in Russell, Ont.

Three children and a driver were taken to hospital after a school bus and a truck collided on a highway in Russell, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police say the vehicles collided on Route 400 at around 4:15 p.m. on Monday, about 40 kilometres south of Ottawa.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the school bus attempted to enter the highway and collided with an eastbound transport truck. 

The OPP said on Monday that 3 students were on the bus, but later clarified that 12 students and the driver were onboard the school bus at the time of the crash. 

Six children were treated by CHEO, including one who stayed overnight, according to CHEO president Alex Munter in an interview on Tuesday. Three were taken to hospital by paramedics and three were taken by their parents, Munter added.

All children were between the ages of 4 and 12-years-old, according to OPP.

A father with four children confirmed to CTV News that all were onboard the bus.

One of his 4-year-old children stayed overnight in hospital with injuries to his leg and foot.

A GoFundMe page is seeking financial help for the family.

"We are still waiting for more details on the injuries, but it is already clear that his father won't be able to work for a few months so he can properly care for his son," the GoFundMe page reads. 

OPP say the driver of the transport truck went to hospital later in the day, but did not provide more details on their condition. STEO, who provides student transporation services for the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), said in a statement Tuesday that the bus driver remains in hospital.

CHEO launched a code orange shortly before 5 p.m., which enables the hospital to deploy additional resources to respond to potential disasters or mass casualty incidents.

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"As a hospital, we immediately redirected resources to our Emergency Department to prepare for the arrival of the young patients," an email from CHEO said.

"Currently, we cannot comment on the individual injuries to the children/youth, but we can confirm that we have engaged all resources available to us and we have also alerted our colleagues at other local hospitals."

The code orange was discontinued at 7:05 p.m.

STEO says the accident continues to be investigated with the cooperation of the bus company.