14 HURT WHEN TOURIST BUS HITS OVERPASS IN IRELAND

MIDDLE TOWN, Ireland -- A tourist bus on a Southeast Missouri State University-sponsored trip to Ireland crashed into an overpass Saturday, injuring the bus driver and 13 passengers.

University officials in Cape Girardeau disclosed the accident in a one-page statement issued Monday.

School officials said the bus was carrying 37 people from Blarney to Limerick, Ireland, when the accident occurred.

Dennis Seyer, professor of speech communication and theatre at Southeast, is heading up the tour.

Seyer reported to school officials that the bus topped a hill and was unable to stop before running underneath an unmarked overpass that had only 8 feet of clearance.

The top of the tall bus struck the overpass. The impact dislodged the top of the bus, Seyer said.

The 14 injured people were taken to area hospitals where they were treated for cuts, bruises and scrapes, and released.

The tour group then resumed its travels, Seyer told school officials.

The tour left from St. Louis on Thursday and arrived in Ireland on Friday. The group is scheduled to return to St. Louis on Saturday, school officials said.