A woman from Bar Harbor was critically injured Thursday in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 295 in Cumberland that involved a school bus carrying 30 children.

The accident occurred around 2:20 p.m. when a sport utility vehicle being driven south by Rudolf Kaserman, 78, of Gorham crossed the median, went over a cable barrier and ran into the path of a northbound car, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The husband and wife who were in the car, Gary Stookey, 72, and Marilyn Stookey, 79, were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, he said.

Both were admitted. A hospital nursing supervisor said Marilyn Stookey was in critical condition. Gary Stookey was reported to be in fair condition.

Kaserman suffered minor injuries, according to Maine State Police Trooper Marvin Hinkley.

When the SUV hit the car, the car spun into the northbound bus, police said. The bus, from Regional School Unit 5 in Freeport, Pownal and Durham, was carrying 30 elementary-age children and six staff members who were returning from a field trip to the Portland Ice Arena, said Russell Packett, the school district’s director of recreation and community education.

No one on the bus, which was driven by Karen Sylvain, 56, of Freeport, was injured. The children waited on the grass alongside the highway and were checked by EMTs before being taken to the Mast Landing School in Freeport on another bus.

Police were investigating what caused the SUV to cross the median.

The crash caused a major traffic jam as part of I-295 was shut down intermittently for two hours. Northbound traffic backed up from the scene of the accident into Falmouth and Portland.

McCausland said the site of the accident, near the Falmouth-Cumberland town line, was cleared about 90 minutes after the accident.

The AP contributed to this report.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at emurphy@pressherald.com