Twelve victims from a Thursday afternoon bus crash in Washington County were in stable condition today, according to Mountain States Health Alliance Communications Manager Teresa Hicks.
“Two patients required surgery and they came through fine. Everybody was in stable condition last night,” she said.
The status of eight students treated at Franklin Woods Hospital was unclear, but Hicks said she will have an update later this morning.
Read the expanded version of this report at the Johnson City Press Web site.
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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — A driver and more than 25 students were taken to hospitals in upper East Tennessee, some with severe injuries, after a school bus carrying high school students flipped over Thursday, officials said.
One girl was in critical condition after surgery for head and neck injuries, said Washington County schools spokeswoman Susan Kiernan. All but five or six were expected to be released Thursday night.
Kiernan said 63 students from David Crockett High School were on the bus. The wreck happened around 3 p.m. when the wheels dropped off the side of the road and the driver overcorrected, on Mount Wesley Road about eight miles southwest of Jonesborough, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokeswoman Dalya Qualls said.
Kiernan said the driver was taken to a hospital by ambulance with chest pain, but she didn't know whether she would be admitted.
Qualls said the roadway remained closed as the troopers were still investigating and Kiernan said reports from the scene indicate the bus flipped several times.
Joshua Wilson, a Crockett junior, described the crash to the Johnson City Press.
"Our bus was going really fast over a hill and something happened," he said. "We swerved and slipped. I heard it was three times. It was scary."
Protocol requires a driver to submit to a blood test following a school bus crash, and the school district is looking at any safety issues that might be a factor, Kiernan said. The bus had been inspected in March and had new tires on the front, she said.
Kiernan said she did not have conditions on the students, but said some suffered head and neck injuries while others had minor cuts and bruises. Besides those taken by ambulance or helicopter, some parents may have sought medical attention for their children.
Kiernan said they have been keeping parents updated with information posted on their website at http://www.wcde.org and through text messages. She said school would be held as usual Friday and that additional counselors would be there.
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Twenty-six David Crockett High School students and one Washington County Schools bus driver were taken to area hospitals following a school bus crash near Telford Thursday afternoon.
Bus 88, a substitute bus carrying 63 students, crashed around 3 p.m. near 477 Mount Wesley Road, Telford, injuring 27 of its occupants.
“I’ve been told the bus dropped off the left side of the road and then overcorrected and then dropped off the right side,” Director of Schools Ron Dykes said.
Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.