Kentucky Rep. Dewayne Bunch Critically Wounded in High School Brawl

April 12, 2011— -- A newly elected Kentucky state lawmaker who also teaches high school suffered a critical head injury Tuesday morning while trying to break up a fight between two male students in the school's cafeteria.

State Rep. DeWayne Bunch, 49, was in "extremely critical" condition when he was taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin, Ky., following the early morning fight, the hospital said.

Bunch was unresponsive and bleeding from the ears when paramedics arrived at Whitley County High School, according to the News Journal.

Bunch was later transported to University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, which would not comment on his condition.

The two students were arrested and taken to the county juvenile detention center, according to a spokeswoman in the Whitley County Sheriff's Office.

The names of the students have not been released because the boys are minors.

The boys face charges, according to the Whitley County Board of Education.

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Bunch, a first-term Republican legislator who represents Whitley County, had long taught math and science at the school.

"It's not good. It doesn't look good," Schools Superintendent Scotto Paul told the Journal News. "I'm dealing with his family right now. This is a bad situation."

The school district observed a moment of silence at 10 a.m "to offer support for Rep. Bunch and his family," Paul said in a statement to ABCNews.com.

"Our entire school district family remains in prayer for Dewayne and his family," Paul said.