Student injured in bus crash on Soldiers Field Road is recovering but still critical, family says

By Todd Feathers, Globe Correspondent

Matthew Cruz, a 17-year-old who was seriously injured after the bus he was riding on crashed into an overpass spanning Soldiers Field Road on Saturday is “alert and aware of what’s happening” but remains in critical condition, according to a statement from his family released today.

“Matthew is badly injured and we’re hoping and praying for the best recovery possible,” Megan Cruz, a family member, said in the statement. “As far as how the accident happened, I don’t know.”

More than 30 people were hospitalized after a bus ferrying high school students from Philadelphia who had just toured Harvard University slammed into the Western Avenue bridge over Soldiers Field Road on Saturday. But Cruz, who is being treated at Boston Medical Center, was the most seriously injured. State Police have said they are waiting for the completion of on-going investigations before deciding whether to press charges against the bus driver.