A car and school bus collided in Minerva, Ohio on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, leaving three teenagers dead. The driver of the car, now identified as 16-year-old Savannah Russell, allegedly lost control of her vehicle due to poor driving conditions brought on by inclement weather in the area. The other two fatalities were Russell’s passengers, identified as 18-year-old Aliyia Hancock and 19-year-old Storm Angione.
The crash took place on US 30 near the Lippincott Road exit. The Ohio State Highway Patrol continues to investigate the cause of the crash. There is no word on whether factors outside of the rainy weather conditions may have contributed to the crash at this time.
The accident occurred when Russell’s vehicle was traveling west on US 30 and slid out of control, smashing into the Brown Local School Bus—which at the time was traveling eastward—head-on. No students on board the bus at the time of the crash have reported any injuries, though the bus driver did suffer minor injuries and was treated at the scene by first responders.
All three young women were pronounced dead at the scene. The freezing temperatures and constant rain led to the roadway being covered in a sheet of ice, making for harrowing driving conditions. A mixture of lack of driving experience paired with such weather makes for a hazardous combination.
According to statistics released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, more than 1,000 fatal crashes took place on Ohio roadways in 2012, with more than 72,000 injury crashes happening in the same year. Of all traffic accidents that year, nearly 3,000 of them involved a bus. The same report shows that traffic accidents occurred more often on the weekends than on weekdays. Of all fatal crashes in Ohio in 2012, more than 150 of them took place on roads that were wet from rain, sleet or snowmelt.