Three fatalities and nearly two dozen injuries resulted from a crash between two school buses on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Rainy weather conditions and wet roadways are suspected to have played a role in the crash. Local police confirmed that of the people who died in the crash, two were children and one was an adult, reported to have been a teacher’s aide, though the exact identities of the deceased have not yet been made public.
One bus was carrying student from Sunnyview Primary School, while the other bus was transporting students from Chilhowee Intermediate School when the accident occurred. Three critically injured parties were transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where they are being treated currently and their condition is now reported as being stable. All other injured parties were taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where their wounds were treated and they were subsequently discharged later in the evening to the care of their parents.
The two buses were reportedly traveling in opposite directions along Asheville Highway when the bus from Chilhowee Intermediate School swerved into the oncoming lane, colliding with the bus from Sunnyview Primary School. The Sunnyview bus overturned, landing on its side in the roadway. Most injuries that took place were sustained by students on board the overturned bus.
The superintendent of the county’s schools was visibly emotional at a press conference held following the incident, stating tearfully that “this is what we work every day to try to prevent.” The students on both buses ranged from grades kindergarten through fifth, most of them being under 10 years old.
Witnesses of the crash were reported as getting out of their cars and running to the scene of the accident to help the students deboard the immobilized buses. One witness reported hearing a loud “bang” from her place of employment, and went to see what had happened. That was when she saw the aftermath of the crash with her own eyes: one bus on its side, the other in the middle of the road. The scene of the accident caused some congestion on the roadways, but has since been cleared. Investigators continue to probe the possible cause of the incident.