Faith Lutheran College students left shaken following Barossa Valley bus crash

The principal of Faith Lutheran College has gone to the scene of Tuesday afternoon’s horror school-bus crash in the Barossa Valley to support distressed students.

The driver was flown to hospital after his car collided with a school bus at Penrice in the Barossa Valley. Picture: 7NEWS

Students from Faith Lutheran College in the Barossa Valley have been left shaken following a crash between their school bus and a Volkswagen hatchback, which left the driver of the car in a critical condition on Tuesday.

The serious crash occurred at the intersection of Stockwell Rd and Penrice Rd at 3.45pm, with reports a Volkswagen hatchback had crashed into the bus carrying schoolchildren.

The students on board the bus are being offered “ongoing support” by Faith Lutheran College following a crash at Penrice in the Barossa Valley. Picture: 7NEWS

The driver of the car, a 25-year-old man travelling from overseas was flown to hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the bus, a 64-year-old local man, and the 15 passengers on board were not injured.

A driver was flown to hospital after his car collided with a school bus at Penrice in the Barossa Valley. Picture: 7NEWS

Following the incident, Faith Lutheran College principal Steven Wilksch went to the scene “to provide care and support for students as they waited for parents to arrive”, a statement from the school said.

Faith Lutheran College principal Steven Wilksch. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Wilksch said the school is providing “ongoing support” for students involved.

“Our College community remains deeply focused on the care and wellbeing of those involved,” he said.

“We are grateful that no students were injured in the incident.”

A Department for Infrastructure and Transport spokesman said the department and LinkSA are “supporting SA Police in their investigation of this incident”.

On Tuesday afternoon, major crash officers were at the scene and closed Stockwell Rd, advising the public to avoid the area if possible.

It was one of a spate of crashes in SA over the past 24 hours, including two that were fatal.

A Seaford Rise man, 75, became the 54th death on the state’s roads this year after his car slammed into a tree on Main South Rd at Myponga on Tuesday.

And a 52-year-old man from Hart, in the state’s Mid North, died after he was struck by two vehicles. The man was a pedestrian on Rail Corridor Rd when police say he was hit by a car and truck about 7pm, becoming the 53rd death.

In an unrelated incident, a car slammed through a fence and into a church filled with worshippers at Bellevue Heights on Tuesday night. The ClearVision Church on Alpha Rd was extensively damaged but worshippers inside at the time escaped injury in the incident reported about 7pm.

And on Wednesday morning, Adelaide Hills commuters faced delays after at least seven cars collided near the South Eastern Freeway tunnels at Crafers West.