A school bus with over 40 children and one adult aboard overturned in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, the first day of the new school year, injuring 12, as per officials, reported ABC News.
The bus was transporting students from Leander Independent School District in northwest Austin, located in Travis County.
Out of the 12 people taken to a local hospital from the scene, one person suffered life-threatening injuries and two others were critically injured, Austin-Travis County authorities reported at a Wednesday evening press conference.
The rest, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, were brought to a reunification center for evaluation and to be reunited with their families.
The rollover happened after school but before any students were dropped off, as per Bruce Gearing, the superintendent of the Leander Independent School District, reported NBC News.
The driver was an experienced veteran and noted that the bus mainly serves students from a local elementary school, Gearing said. He added that it remains unclear how many students were wearing seatbelts at the time of the rollover.
“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods and this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts,” said Gearing, reported NBC News.
“We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them,” he added.
It is still unclear why the 2024 model bus equipped with seatbelts veered off the right side of the road before overturning, as per an official from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The official pointed out a slight curve in the roadway and said a preliminary investigation is underway.
The bus was transporting students from Leander Independent School District in northwest Austin, located in Travis County.
Out of the 12 people taken to a local hospital from the scene, one person suffered life-threatening injuries and two others were critically injured, Austin-Travis County authorities reported at a Wednesday evening press conference.
The rest, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, were brought to a reunification center for evaluation and to be reunited with their families.
The rollover happened after school but before any students were dropped off, as per Bruce Gearing, the superintendent of the Leander Independent School District, reported NBC News.
The driver was an experienced veteran and noted that the bus mainly serves students from a local elementary school, Gearing said. He added that it remains unclear how many students were wearing seatbelts at the time of the rollover.
“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods and this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts,” said Gearing, reported NBC News.
“We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them,” he added.
It is still unclear why the 2024 model bus equipped with seatbelts veered off the right side of the road before overturning, as per an official from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The official pointed out a slight curve in the roadway and said a preliminary investigation is underway.
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