American teenagers on tour of Israel injured in bus accident

Nineteen American teenagers were injured lightly Sunday when their tour bus collided with an army semi trailer outside of the northern town of Rosh Pina, the police said.

Nineteen American teenagers were injured lightly Sunday when their tour bus collided with an army semi trailer outside of the northern town of Rosh Pina, the police said.

Most of the injured suffered bruises and cuts. Twenty-eight others who were also on the bus were treated for shock, said Victor Ashkar, commander of the Rosh Pina police force.

The group of 43 teenagers and four staff members are traveling in Israel as part of a summer tour sponsored by the synagogue youth group of the North American Reform movement.

The teenagers on the bus who range in age from 15 to 16-years old, come from New York, New Jersey, the Washington D.C. area, and California, officials from the North American Federation of Temple Youth said.

There was no immediate information available on the names or hometowns of the injured.

The bus driver, Rifat Hanjar, said he veered the bus into a ditch on the side of the highway after the army truck swerved into his lane and hit the bus.

The soldier who drove the semi trailer was not injured.