BASTROP, TX – In a heartrending tragedy on Friday, an accident involving a school bus taking prekindergarten students home from a field trip resulted in the deaths of at least two people, including a student. The accident, which occurred on a Texas highway, was classified as a “major traffic event” by the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office.
A male student was reported to be one of the fatalities, as confirmed by Texas DPS spokesperson Deon Cockrell. The other victim was the driver of a Dodge Charger. The crash also involved a passenger vehicle and a concrete truck, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The event took place on State Highway 21 West at Caldwell Road, early in the afternoon. Initial investigations reveal that the school bus was heading west on the highway around 2 p.m. when a concrete truck, moving in the opposite direction, swerved into the lane of the school bus. This led to the concrete truck hitting the bus’s front, tipping the school bus over onto its side.
Cockrell further disclosed that the passenger vehicle, later found to be part of the crash, was trailing behind the school bus. Austin-Travis County EMS Division Chief Kevin Parker reported that 53 people were examined by the first response team at the crash scene.
Reportedly, four people were airlifted in critical condition. Detailed information regarding the vehicle they were in remains unclear.
Meanwhile, six more people were transported via ground support due to “potentially serious injuries,” according to Parker. Some sustained minor injuries, leading to them being transferred through ground transportation, while others did not necessitate any transport.
The bus was carrying students from Hays County’s Tom Green Elementary School, as per a press release from the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. The students were on their way back from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo when the accident occurred. In total, the bus was carrying 55 individuals, including 44 students and 11 adults.