A bus carrying University of South Carolina students burst a tire and crashed into a concrete fence in Mississippi, injuring 11 people.
Mississippi State Police said the driver and one student were taken by helicopter to a hospital with serious injuries, and nine other students were taken by ambulance after Friday’s crash.
The 56 passengers were members of the university’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and their guests, who were traveling to New Orleans for an event.
Police said the driver, 55-year-old Tina Wilson of Roebuck, South Carolina, was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 near Bay St. Louis when her tire went flat and the bus crashed into the concrete barrier in the center. It is said that there was a collision.
Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said the bus drove away from the crash on two wheels, then Wilson put it back on all four wheels.
Schwartz told the Biloxi Sun Herald that Wilson “used all of his strength to hold the steering wheel long enough to get it back on the road.”
Wilson was ejected when the windshield was blown out and the bus hit the ground. Schwartz said student Paul Clune ran over and grabbed the wheel. Clune tried to maintain control of the bus until it skidded to a stop after nearly half a mile. WLOX-TV reported.
“If that bus had rolled over, there would have been casualties,” Schwartz said. “It was the bus driver and the students who saved those kids. The bus driver is a great hero.”
The uninjured students were taken by school bus to another location and then to New Orleans. The interstate was shut down for hours.
Colin Taylor, a spokesperson for the University of South Carolina, said Saturday that travel arrangements are being made for students who wish to return to Columbia, and that the university is providing mental health and academic support to those affected by the accident. said that it would provide.
Taylor said university officials are trying to figure out how many people are still in the hospital.
Police are investigating a crash involving a bus owned by Dixon Motor Express in Chester, South Carolina.
Owner Todd Dixon told the Columbian newspaper on Saturday that the accident was an “extraordinary situation” and that his company has had no other accidents since it was founded in 2019.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the company has a satisfactory safety rating. For the past two years, the company had passed inspections and no incidents were reported.
“We have always operated safely,” Dixon said.
“We keep everything in tip-top condition and don’t cut corners because we know we’re in the business of transporting people.”
Mr Dixon praised Mr Wilson, saying: “She has many years of experience and is an instinctively safe driver.”
