Police Chief William Lawrence declined to release the girl’s name until he was sure all of her relatives had been notified of the accident, which was reported about 2:45 p.m.

LifeFlight helicopter flew the girl from Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Lawrence was unsure of the extent of her injuries, but said that she was “responsive, awake and talking at the scene.”

“She was that way at the hospital, too,” Lawrence said.

The bus driver, Casey Voisine, had not been charged in connection with the accident as of 6:30 p.m. Police still are compiling eyewitness accounts. Lawrence asked anyone who saw the accident to call Detective David Cram at 794-8455.

Investigators have only a general idea of what happened, Lawrence said.

“Some time after she left the bus and cleared the bus, somehow she came underneath the bus and was struck, possibly by the wheel and the underside of the bus,” Lawrence said. “We are not sure how that occurred right now.”

State police Troopers Larry Anderson, who was off duty, and Thomas Fiske are assisting local police with the investigation.

State police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division inspectors examined the bus on Wednesday and found no mechanical faults that could have contributed to the accident, Lawrence said.

The intersection of Clark and Ariel streets sits atop a short but steep hill and adjoins Taylor Street Extension and High Street south of Mattanawcook Lake.