MERCED, Calif. (KSEE / KGPE)- A party bus with over a dozen teenage passengers overturned off Highway 99 Saturday afternoon, resulting in some of the youth being taken to the hospital, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Right before 2:00 p.m. Saturday, the Merced-area CHP office says it received a report of a party bus that rolled over on the Martin Luther King Jr Way offramp, in the southbound lanes of HWY 99 in Merced.

The CHP says when its units arrived, the driver reported that the bus experienced a mechanical failure as it was exiting the freeway.

Investigators say the driver told officers he swerved to the left to avoid hitting other cars, and at that point, that’s when the bus overturned onto the driver’s side.

Officers say that approximately 16 teenagers were onboard at the time, with the passengers all on their way to a quinceanera in Merced.

Some of the teenage passengers were transported to an area hospital for treatment for their moderate injuries.

Some of the other passengers are reported to have received minor injuries; all injuries are believed to be non-life threatening per first responders at the scene.

Investigators say drugs, nor alcohol, is suspected to be factors in this crash.

The CHP says no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The offramp was closed while the investigation took place, and remained so until the bus was towed away.

If you have any information on this crash you are asked to call the Merced-area CHP office at 209-356-6600.