A school bus driver is facing charges after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash in Niagara Region with a wheel missing and children onboard.

In a Friday release, Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) say emergency crews responded to a crash near Canal Bank Street and Ontario Road in Welland around 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday.

Crews arrived to find a damaged blue Ford 150 pickup truck and injured driver who had to be extricated from the vehicle. The 47-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators were able to determine that the other vehicle involved in the crash was a school bus that left the scene. Police say they started to receive calls about a school bus driving through Welland on three wheels.

Officers stopped the bus near Prince Charles Drive and Thorold Road, approximately four kilometres from the crash site, and found a driver and four children onboard.

Police say the badly damaged bus needed to be towed from the scene. No other injuries were reported.

The driver, a 77-year-old man from Fort Erie, is facing two charges including careless driving and failure to remain.