The bus was carrying 21 Garfield High School students, their coach and a driver, according to the school district.

It smashed into a concrete pedestrian overpass in the 2100 block of Lake Washington Blvd. East at about 6:20 p.m. The collision partially crushed the bus' roof and broke some of its windows.

"At first we thought that bus was going to explode," said student Alyson Lykken, pictured right. "We didn't know how to get out. The person next to me was thinking about jumping out the window."

Ana Masters, another student, said the scene quickly became chaotic.

"The roof fell in on one side specifically, and (there was) just glass was everywhere," she said. "I went flying out of my chair backwards to another chair and then my back got hit."

The passengers were called to the front of the bus and each was carried out by the bus driver.

Everyone but the bus driver was taken to the hospital. Five were taken by ambulance and the rest by a charter bus. The team's coach and a 16-year-old player suffered the worst injuries, according to officials at the scene.

Harborview Medical Center treated 22 people, all of whom had suffered non-life-threatening injuries "ranging from bumps and bruises to neck pain," said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson. All were in satisfactory condition and were expected to be released Wednesday night.

The softball team was traveling back to Garfield High from a game against Lake Washington High School in Kirkland. Garfield lost the game 10-0.

Steve Abegg, president of Lynnwood-based Journey Lines, which supplied the bus, said the vehicle was 11 feet 8 inches tall. A sign on the overpass warned of the low 9-foot clearance.

When asked how such an error could be made, Abegg said "I'm not sure what distracted him (the driver)."

As for how the bus ended up on the winding road, the bus driver told Seattle police that he was relying on a GPS unit to route his way. The driver was cited and fined $156 by Seattle police.

Abegg said the incident was the first of its kind for the company.

Records show Journey Lines was flagged for safety issues in 2006.

The state began investigating the company in June of 2006 after a parent of the Everett Elementary School shed light on safety problems. The woman, who had gone along on a field trip as a chaperone, took pictures of loose panels and exposed wires that prompted the investigation.

A month later, state officials declared the the buses Journey Lines used to shuttle students to and from Lowell Elementary School were dangerous and unsanitary. An investigation that resulted from a parent complaint had led to the discovery of exposed wiring and mold on the ceiling.

Journey Lines was fined $400 - the maximum penalty allowed by law - for a variety of safety violations.