The Knoxville school bus crash which occurred at about 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon resulted in the death of three people, including two young girls and a female aide on one bus. According to officials, the Knoxville school bus crash took place on a Tennessee highway as two busses were on their way to bring children home from school.
Apart from the three deaths, another 27 people were injured from the Knoxville school bus crash, according to the Associated Press. Among 27 people injured were at least 23 injured children taken to hospitals.
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said some of the injured children were transported by emergency vehicles, while some were driven by their parents. He added that the children killed from the Knoxville school bus crash were in third grade or below, while the adult who died was an aide.
According to Darrell DeBusk, the police department's spokesman, the two buses involved in the Knoxville school bus crash were traveling in opposite directions on Asheville Highway near Governor John Sevier Highway. One made a sharp left turn and crossed a concrete median, striking onto the side of the other bus.
Afterwards, the second bus from the Knoxville school bus crash reportedly flipped onto its side and slid and slid down the road. The three deaths at the scene were of those from the overturned bus, reports CNN.
Meanwhile, DeBusk cautioned the media that the investigation into the Knoxville school bus crash is still in its early stages.
Three people who have been seriously injured from the Knoxville school bus crash were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and were in stable condition, according to Rausch.
Jim Ragonese, the hospital's spokesman said that a total of seven people were treated there Tuesday morning. Come evening, three had already been discharged.
In East Tennessee Children Hospital, another 20 children were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to hospital Spokeswoman Erica Estep.
18 of the 20 children were riding on a bus on their way home from Sunnyview Primary School. The school serves kindergarten through second grade. Their injuries from the Knoxville school bus crash were "bumps and scrapes." Rausch said the children were transported to the hospital via a city bus "to be checked out."
Meanwhile, the other bus involved in the Knoxville school bus crash reportedly came from Chilhowee Intermediate School, serving third through fifth grade. After sustaining front-end damage, the driver of the bus was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. It remains unclear whether the other driver also was hospitalized.
DeBusk said authorities were still in the process of notifying the families of those who died from the accident.
"Our families and community suffered an unspeakable tragedy today, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families and staff members at Chilhowee Intermediate School and Sunnyview Primary School," Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre said in a written statement.
While he is speaking about the Knoxville school bus crash at a news conference, McIntyre was fighting tears.
"This is an unspeakable tragedy," he said. "This is what we work every day to try to prevent," he said.
On Wednesday, classes were suspended for both schools whose students got involved in the crash. However, counselors have been made available part of the day for students or families.
"(My grandson) was in shock. He was crying. He was petrified," Gloria Johnson told CNN Knoxville affiliate WVLT. "A bus is supposed to be safer than a car."
A witness named Karla Corona, a manager at an AutoZone near the Knoxville school bus crash said she heard a bang then later saw people running toward the buses.
"I heard the big bang," Corona said. "As soon as I rang up the customer, we saw that a bus had flipped over and another was in the middle of the road."
"I saw all the kids being rushed off the bus. Firefighters were the first to show up, and two or three cop cars," she added. "People actually got out of their cars and ran to help."
Forrest Robinson, an employee at a nearby gas station and restaurant, said he heard a "really big bam" as the Knoxville school bus crash took place. He said that when he went to see what was happening, he saw one of the buses flipped while the other was "completely across the median."
He added that soon as parents arrived, some of them formed a prayer circle as they waited for news about their children.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, when Rausch notified relatives of one of the deceased children at the scene of the Knoxville school bus crash, all that can be heard were screams and tears.
The Knoxville school bus crash is an unexpected tragedy especially as some who died were children. Meanwhile, a call to Knoxville police was reportedly not returned immediately, said the Huffington Post.
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