A school bus carrying several passengers home from school was reportedly run off the road on U.S. Highway 80 in Hinds County, a region in western Mississippi on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. The accident led to several instances of minor injury as well as a critical injury to one of the people inside of the bus at the time of the crash. Of the nine passengers aboard the bus, seven were injured, including the driver and six of his young passengers. Only two individuals—both students—managed to escape the accident seemingly unscathed.
Mississippi Highway Patrol officers are still investigating the cause of the crash, but were able to determine that the bus may have been run off the road by a white-or-grey-colored van which was allegedly en route to nearby Bolton Mississippi when it crossed the center division line in the road, causing it to nearly collide with the bus full of children. The bus then swerved off road and into a ravine, where it struck a tree and came to a stop. No one in the van has reported any injuries at this time, and no other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Both the driver of the bus and several children were transported via ambulance to local hospitals near the site of the accident, and as of this writing all children are reported to have been released to their parents’ care at home. One critical injury was also reported, and although the name of the party with life-threatening injuries has not been released, it is possible that the injured party who is still fighting for his or her life is indeed the driver of the school bus. This individual is currently being treated at University of Mississippi Medical Center.
The investigating Mississippi Highway Patrol officers have stated that although the van failed to make direct physical contact with the bus, because the van swerved out of its own lane and into the oncoming lane that the bus was traveling in, the accident is to be treated as a hit-and-run crash. The driver of the light-colored van in question is still being sought for questioning by authorities at this time.