Authorities reported a pre-K school bus without seatbelts crashed in rural Texas on Friday, killing two and injuring at least 10. Sgt. Deon Cockrell of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the bus and concrete truck collided on State Highway 21 50 miles east of Austin, killing them.
He stated the concrete truck hit the bus, killing a youngster on it and a Dodge Charger following it. When the bus crashed, Alejandro Anaya, who worked nearby, ran to help. "What I saw was all the kids covered in blood, crying, trying to escape," he added.
Four injured were flown to hospitals by helicopter in critical condition, said Austin-Travis County EMS commander Kevin Parker. Six ground ambulances carried possibly significant injuries, he said. The number of minor injury patients hospitalized was unknown, but officials said there were more. St. David's South Austin Medical Center treated 11 patients, including two in fair condition who stayed Saturday and one who was transferred.
The Hays Consolidated Independent School District said the bus carried Tom Green Elementary pre-K students home from a field trip to the Capital of Texas Zoo in Cedar Creek, 22 miles southeast of Austin. It reported 44 youngsters and 11 adults were on the bus. Jennifer Hanna, the school's principal, wrote Saturday that three staff and two children were hospitalized.
Hanna said two staff members were recovering “extensively” and one would shortly be freed. The hospitalized students “appear to be doing well and remain primarily for observation prior to their anticipated releases in the near future,” she said.
Angelica Campos and her 5-year-old daughter Caliana survived the crash Friday. Their bodies appeared unharmed. “We, like, rolled on the bus,” Caliana recounted, her father, Hector, adding that she covered her eyes to avoid glass shards. “I spent the day with all those kids,” Angelica Campos said. This is heartbreaking.”
She stated the Buda, Austin suburb school will close on Monday, although counseling will be offered until early evening. Friday, District Superintendent Eric Wright wrote to family, students, and staff, “There are no words that can express my sorrow for the student’s family, the Tom Green Elementary School family, and our greater Hays CISD community.”
Hanna said on Saturday that the district was still trying to contact nine student families to update them on the tragedy. Gov. Greg Abbott and his wife, Cecilia Abbott, were grieved by the news and spoke with the district superintendent “and offered the state's full support as they help their community through this tragedy.” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he's praying for crash victims' families. He posted on X, “I am shocked and deeply saddened to hear about the school bus accident in Bastrop County today.”
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