The Aliquippa School District said one player on the junior high football team is in critical condition at UPMC Children's Hospital after a school bus crash Saturday morning in Economy Borough, with the rest discharged.

A spokesperson at Allegheny Health Network also told KDKA-TV that two others remain at Allegheny General Hospital. Their ages and conditions are unknown.

Brandon Rue, 12, was standing tall as he recovered from a broken collarbone, surrounded by friends and loved ones at a playground for a vigil.

"I'm just thankful I'm still alive," Rue said. "Most of them is really like family to me and they're all really close friends."

It was just hours earlier, before 10 a.m., when he was with that family, his teammates on the Aliquippa Junior High football team on a school bus, heading to a scrimmage against Pine-Richland, when suddenly, something went wrong.

"I remember him swerving into the pole and, like me, flying up," Rue said. "I think I hit something off of the ceiling."

A source close to the investigation told KDKA-TV that as the bus was traveling around a bend on Shaffer Road by Zhender in Economy, it veered off the road and hit a hillside, causing it to briefly tip, before landing upright. In the process, at one point, the bus struck a utility pole, knocking down live wires, which some players had to navigate as they got out of the vehicle.

Defensive coordinator Larry Walker Jr. was in a separate car a few minutes away and raced over when he got the news.

"I [saw] a lot of injuries, a lot of crying, a lot of emotion," Walker Jr. said. "For something like this traumatic to go and happen, it was just unreal. I can't even describe how it was."

Two of the other coaches were on board.

A source told KDKA-TV that there were 24 players and another child with them, along with the driver.

EMS crews transported more than 20 to area hospitals at UPMC Children's, Allegheny General, and Sewickley. According to a source, one went by air, and the rest by ambulance. Others went by private vehicles.

Economy Borough Police Chief Michael O'Brien said one of those injured is the bus driver. The school district said at least one player required surgery.

In a letter to families, the superintendent said they're working with ABC Transit to obtain video and students' belongings, as they and the rest of the community, with Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker, rally behind the team.

"When it comes to our children, we unite, we come together," Mayor Walker said.

"It was just a scary moment, but I'm just glad that everyone survived," Rue said.

Mayor Walker said they will be there for the children, with mental health resources at school on Monday.

The district said practices and games are cancelled for the next week.