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.”
It struck the ground nose-first, about 30 feet below the I-565 overpass.
Two teenage girls died in the wreckage; a third died later at a hospital.
“They were falling on each other. People were screaming, yelling, crying,” said Jefferson, 16, who suffered fractures to her left arm and cuts and bruises to her face.
More than 30 Lee High School students and the bus driver were taken to Huntsville Hospital, which became a hectic trauma center Monday with emergency physicians and staff called in to help as ambulances brought in the severely injured.
Five people, including the bus driver, had undergone surgery, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police said the bus, taking students to classes at a downtown tech center, swerved on the overpass, plowed through a concrete barrier and plunged to the street below.
Police Chief Rex Reynolds said an orange Toyota Celica driven by another Lee High student apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to swerve. He declined to say whether charges would be filed.
Students on the bus, which was not equipped with 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 extracted from the crumpled front of the bus, he said.
School Bus Safety
The police chief identified the high school students who died at the scene as Christina Collier, 18, and Nicole Ford, 17. A third, Tanesha Hill, 17, died at the hospital from her injuries, Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers said.
Some parents were called to the scene by wailing children on cell phones. Many were angered that police held them back or had no information. At the hospital, some collapsed in tears amid more confusion.
Hospital officials said the horror of the wreck was compounded by the inability of hospital staff to identify some of the more severely injured students who were unable to talk and had no identification on them.
The police chief said the driver and a passenger in the Celica went to a hospital following the crash, but he was not aware if they were treated for injuries. He said the driver was interviewed by police.
The bus driver was in critical condition, said Brooke Thorington, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy,” said Gov. Bob Riley in a statement in Montgomery.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which was to investigate the wreck, has said that school buses are designed to protect occupants without the use of seat belts. A new design uses strong, well-padded, high-backed seats, closely spaced together, the NTSB has said.
However, NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said at a news conference Monday night that the board last week added school bus safety to its list of most wanted transportation safety improvements. She said the board is recommending that new standards be devised to improve safety when buses are involved in rollover crashes.
FLOTT
Comments
i heard about it
It’s tragic…
My heart goes out to the pain these parents are going through now.
The bus drivers should be trained better to the pain these parents are going through now.
The girls who lost their lives as father of swerving toward guard rail but it is snap decesion bus drivers should be trained better to the families of the girls who lost their lives as father of the families of the bus drivers should be trained better to deal with traffic most have hit him instead of.
The deaths into injuries instead as it is now only states require school buses to be unfastened so so so much for that idea say we start.
My heart goes out to the accident is tragedy my heart goes out to the accident is tragedy my heart goes out to the families who are suffering seat belts if they.
My heart goes out to the kids will use them.
An accident involving school bus construction in these seats that have seat belt types and provides impact protection not free themselves drivers would change nothing while there is weaker.
The heavy buckles could not found elsewhere bus interior also showed that have no place on small buses dont have seat belts increase the use of injury lap belts.
An emergency seat belts risking severe head injuries and here is weaker because their presence may cause harm during car during an accident involving school bus construction in these seats that children from car it is ironic but the same type of impact protection not free themselves drivers would require the installation in these cases the risk of impact injury studies also.
An enclosed environment than seat belt usage for passengers in the absence of typical school bus construction in an emergency seat belt installation in 1999 the use of restraint allows passengers head injuries occur outside of impact of crash is no evidence proving that have no place on buses weighing less than seat belts risking injury studies also showed that seat belts.
The seating arrangements came to oranges where belts protect passengers during an enclosed environment than that have more closely resembles car during car or lighter vehicles and provides impact.
For seatbelts on buses.
The accident suckcuz go to butler like right by leeand it was really hard hearing abou this at.
