Two people were killed when a school bus carrying 44 preschoolers and 11 adults crashed into a cement truck in Texas on Friday, KXAN News reported.
Emergency officials responded to the scene near Mustang Ridge in Bastrop County around 2:17 p.m. local time. according to KXAN News. The bus carrying preschoolers from Tom Green Elementary School was returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo, the Hays Consolidated Independent School District announced in a news release.
The truck veered into the lane where the bus was traveling, KXAN reported. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) could not confirm to KXAN whether the truck driver will face any charges.
Parents of children on the bus were “directly notified by the campus” after the incident, KXAN reported. The district is reportedly “in the process of unification.”
1 child and 1 adult killed in Austin-Travis County EMS accident. Said On Twitter. Four people were diagnosed with serious injuries and six with potentially serious injuries.
Officials said the remaining people had minor injuries and were taken to local medical centers or reunification centers. (Related: 3 killed, 15 injured in ‘mass casualty’ bus crash in Ohio: Report).
Texas State Police told KXAN that the man who died in the incident was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling behind the bus.
“Highway 21 near the Caldwell/Bastrop county line is closed due to a multiple fatal crash involving a school bus,” the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Said On facebook.
🚨#breaking news: Pre-school bus collides with cement truck, more than 30 people involved, injuries and deaths reported
⁰📌#BastropCounty | #TexasNumerous law enforcement and emergency personnel are currently on the scene in Bastrop County. pic.twitter.com/0tMZE9fGcm
— RAWSALETS (@rawsalerts) March 22, 2024
Two helicopters arrived at the scene around 3:30 p.m. and transported the four patients to a local hospital. Others were taken to local medical centers, the newspaper reported. About an hour later, doctors at the scene announced that all patients requiring treatment had been transported and removed from the scene, KXAN reported.
“I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the school bus accident in Bastrop County today,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Said On Twitter. “Please join us in praying for our children, educators, and their families during this difficult time, especially for those who have lost a loved one.”
