There was still a tinge of panic and worry in the air as emergency services continued to direct a heavy flow of traffic around the Ballyblack Road East in Carrowdore, near Newtownards.
A bus crash involving school children from Strangford College — later declared a major incident — meant the entire rural area, typically dark with no street lighting, had been illuminated with the blue lights of sirens from emergency services.
Small groups of people gathered to speak on the streets in the nearby village, while their children, who were of similar age to those involved in the incident, played football.
Dog walkers and cyclists out and about had worried looks on their faces, slightly eased by the reassuring news that the incident was not more serious.
Watch: Scene of overturned bus outside Newtownards
Photographs of the crash show the school children standing in the middle of the field, looking at the smashed windows of the bus — their uniforms and bags still freshly new from the start of the school year.
The charity Air Ambulance NI was also at the scene as emergency services filled the immediate area around the overturned Translink bus.
While police helped aid the flow of traffic, 10 ambulances, without their sirens on, filed neatly down the road, all while passing a large sign that warns motorists of the dangers of large verges at the side of the road, which connects Carrowdore to the seaside village of Millisle.
Shortly after news of the four hospitalisations, all believed to be non-life threatening, the scene on the rural road began to wind down. The lack of crowds, concerned community members and extensive emergency services served as a reminder that the incident could have ended up so much worse.