Nov 21, 2006 3:00 am US/Pacific
School Bus Falls 30 Feet Off Overpass, 3 Killed
HUNTSVILE, Ala. (CBS News) ―
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Police have confirmed to CBS affiliate WHNT that four students have died after a school bus veered off an interstate and overturned.
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The bus was carrying 34 students, 23 of whom were taken to hospitals, police spokesman Wendell Johnson said.
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Approximately 20 students were on board the bus when it crashed.
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A school bus carrying high school students plummeted 30 feet off an interstate overpass Monday, killing three teenage girls and injuring at least 30 other people, several critically, authorities said.
The bus ended up below the overpass, its front end crushed. Two teenage girls died at the scene, and a third died of injuries at a hospital, police said.
"It looks like the bus plunged headfirst," police spokesman Wendell Johnson 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 plow through the guardrail on the elevated section of I-565. More than 30 students and the driver were taken to hospitals, he said.
The bus was carrying students to the Huntsville Center for Technology, city schools spokesman Keith Ward said.
The police chief identified the students killed as Christina Collier, 18, and Nicole Ford, 17. A third, Tanesha Hill, whose age was not immediately available, died at the hospital, according to Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers.
One student said the accident seemed to happen in "slow motion." A car cut off the bus, and the driver tried to dodge, but hit the car anyway. For a moment, the bus hung on the railing before it fell.
He was not injured, he told WHNT, "only by the grace of God. When I got off that bus, I got down and prayed because me and my two brothers made it off OK."
He and his brothers were three of about 10 passengers who were ambulatory, a fire and rescue spokesman said.
Parents at the scene told WHNT that their children called them from cell phones as soon as the bus hit the ground, and they rushed to the scene.
A bus company spokesman told WHNT that the driver survived the accident, but has not yet been able to tell what happened. The driver has been with the company for 3 1/2 to 4 years, he said.
The accident occurred near several hospitals and the fire and rescue service station, so first responders were on the scene quickly.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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