- Joined
- Dec 8, 2003
- Messages
- 21,465
- Reaction score
- 1
Students on the bus, which had no seat belts, were screaming when rescue workers arrived. "They were thrown all over the bus," said Huntsville Fire Chief Dusty Underwood. Some had to be pulled from the crushed front of the vehicle.
Two teenage girls died at the scene, and a third died at a hospital, police said.
Police Chief Rex Reynolds said officers were looking for a small car that apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to veer off the elevated section of Interstate 565. More than 30 students and the driver were taken to the hospital, he said.
"This is a heartbreaking tragedy," Gov. Bob Riley said in a statement.
School Bus Safety
Frantic parents went to the scene, where some students sat dazed or lay draped in white sheets, or went to the hospital to find their children.
Hospital officials said staff members had trouble identifying some of the more severely injured students who were unable to talk and had no identification on them.
Before help arrived, terrified students tried to climb from the wreckage.
"They were falling on each other. People were screaming, yelling, crying," said LaWanda Jefferson, 16, whose left arm was fractured and face was bruised. "I was scared, panicking and just getting ready to cry."
Some children called their relatives from cell phones shortly after the bus hit the ground, Jefferson among them.
"All I could hear was screaming in my ears," her grandmother, Doris Harris, said. "Screaming and crying and her saying something about the bus."
The bus was taking students from Huntsville's Lee High School to the Center for Technology, where students can receive special science and math credits.
Authorities identified the dead as Christina Collier, 18, Nicole Ford, 17, and Tanesha Hill, whose age was not immediately available.
Two students were still in the operating room and two others were in critical condition, hospital officials said at an early afternoon news conference.
The bus driver was in critical condition, authorities said, though the police chief said hospital personnel were able to speak with the driver.
Hours after the wreck, a damaged red compact car remained on the interstate near where the bus plunged over the side. But it was not immediately clear whether it was the vehicle mentioned by the police chief.
Jefferson told the AP that before the crash, the passengers had been talking, joking and laughing. Then she saw a red car speed by to the right, and suddenly she was flying across the bus, she said.
"The bus went to the side, and I guess it went over," she said. "When it was falling ... I was just glad when it hit the ground."
She said that if there had been seat belts on the bus, "most folks would not have gotten injured like this."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the wreck. The agency has said that school buses are designed to protect occupants without the need for seat belts.
Three Dead in Alabama School Bus Crash - AOL News
it near my home abt 6 min less... i shocked my best friend pgr me and let me know look at channel news so i did turned on.. my bf and i shocked.. i cant believe that.. so i send link here..
Two teenage girls died at the scene, and a third died at a hospital, police said.
Police Chief Rex Reynolds said officers were looking for a small car that apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to veer off the elevated section of Interstate 565. More than 30 students and the driver were taken to the hospital, he said.
"This is a heartbreaking tragedy," Gov. Bob Riley said in a statement.
School Bus Safety
Frantic parents went to the scene, where some students sat dazed or lay draped in white sheets, or went to the hospital to find their children.
Hospital officials said staff members had trouble identifying some of the more severely injured students who were unable to talk and had no identification on them.
Before help arrived, terrified students tried to climb from the wreckage.
"They were falling on each other. People were screaming, yelling, crying," said LaWanda Jefferson, 16, whose left arm was fractured and face was bruised. "I was scared, panicking and just getting ready to cry."
Some children called their relatives from cell phones shortly after the bus hit the ground, Jefferson among them.
"All I could hear was screaming in my ears," her grandmother, Doris Harris, said. "Screaming and crying and her saying something about the bus."
The bus was taking students from Huntsville's Lee High School to the Center for Technology, where students can receive special science and math credits.
Authorities identified the dead as Christina Collier, 18, Nicole Ford, 17, and Tanesha Hill, whose age was not immediately available.
Two students were still in the operating room and two others were in critical condition, hospital officials said at an early afternoon news conference.
The bus driver was in critical condition, authorities said, though the police chief said hospital personnel were able to speak with the driver.
Hours after the wreck, a damaged red compact car remained on the interstate near where the bus plunged over the side. But it was not immediately clear whether it was the vehicle mentioned by the police chief.
Jefferson told the AP that before the crash, the passengers had been talking, joking and laughing. Then she saw a red car speed by to the right, and suddenly she was flying across the bus, she said.
"The bus went to the side, and I guess it went over," she said. "When it was falling ... I was just glad when it hit the ground."
She said that if there had been seat belts on the bus, "most folks would not have gotten injured like this."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the wreck. The agency has said that school buses are designed to protect occupants without the need for seat belts.
Three Dead in Alabama School Bus Crash - AOL News
it near my home abt 6 min less... i shocked my best friend pgr me and let me know look at channel news so i did turned on.. my bf and i shocked.. i cant believe that.. so i send link here..
Espeically that's only few days before Thanksgiving!!! *goosebumps*
