Prosecutors Monday blamed a Warren resident for the Saturday night crash that forced a Tiverton school bus off Route 24 and injured many of its passengers, several of them seriously.

At her arraignment in Taunton District Court, Christy Gilpatrick, 27, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence, second offense.

Investigators had previously held off from saying that Ms. Gilpatrick caused the crash, but prosecutors in court laid the blame squarely on the Warren woman.

They said that her Subaru Impreza struck another car, then swerved in front of the school bus, causing the crash and forcing it off the road.

And they also gave the first indication of the extent of injuries.

“At this point, we do know that there was serious injury to multiple occupants of the bus, including broken ribs, broken jaw, crushed vertebrate, blood around the lungs, and others of the same magnitude,” the Boston Globe reports that a prosecutor said.

Ms. Gilpatrick told police that she had consumed one drink, but prosecutors said she failed a field sobriety test — a chemical test revealed levels about double the legal limit.

Her attorney told the judge that she helped comfort some of the injured at the crash scene. While prosecutors sought $10,000 bail, her lawyer asked that bail be set at $2,000. Bail was set at $2,500.

The Globe reports that bail terms include that she attend AA meetings, appear at probation, be subjected to random alcohol screenings, and not drive without a valid license.

She was also charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation, and operating under the influence causing serious injury.

A pretrial hearing was set for February 7.

On her Facebook page, Ms. Gilpatrick says she is a barista at the Beehive Cafe in Bristol.

The Saturday night crash happened on Route 24 south in Berkley, Mass.,

Massachusetts State Police say that 23 people were aboard the bus at the time including adults and children, and that all were treated for injuries of varying degrees. Two of the passengers, one of them a child, police say, were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries. The child was later transported to a Boston hospital. Other occupants were treated for lesser injuries at Charlton and Morton hospitals in Massachusetts.

The bus was headed back to Tiverton after a bus company trip to LaSalette Shrine in Tiverton. Passengers were employees of First Student Bus Company, Tiverton, and their families.

The bus spun around to face the wrong direction and went into the woods. coming to a stop against trees in an upright position, Berkley Fire Chief Scott Fournier said.

The chief was the first firefighter to arrive and said he was greeted by the startling sight of people sitting and lying on the ground near the bus, two of them babies. Most had gotten out of the bus on their own or with the help of fellow passengers, he said.

Bad as the crash was, it could easily have been worse, the chief said.

“They are lucky,” he added — “school buses don’t have seat belts.” The chief decline to specify the nature of the injuries.

A mass casualty incident was declared, which brought mutual aid in the form of fire trucks and ambulances from over a dozen cities and towns.

Ambulances from Alert Ambulance, Brewster Ambulance, Dighton, Raynham, Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Rehoboth, Freetown, Seekonk, Norton, Mansfield, Westport, North Attleboro, Bridgewater, Lakeville, Middleboro, West Bridgewater, Canton, Avon and Randolph were summoned to the scene. Taunton police and fire and Tiverton fire also responded.

The highway was closed for over an hour with vehicles detoured off the highway at exit 11. One lane was re-opened southbound just after 11 p.m.