Student Killed After Mesquite School Bus Crashes, Catches Fire
MESQUITE (CBSDFW.COM) - One student died Wednesday afternoon when a Mesquite ISD school bus crashed and caught fire after the bus struck a power line.
Three other students were injured.
It happened around 4:00 p.m. at the corner of Lawson and Cartwright.
Update: 37 children were taken to Terry Middle School to be reunited with their parents. Three children were taken to Children's Hospital with minor injuries. Community members, MISD employees and first responders acted quickly & risked their own lives to save these children. 1/3
— Mesquite ISD (@mesquiteisdtx) October 3, 2018
We know these citizens saved many lives tonight and we are deeply moved by and thankful for their heroic acts. But it is with a very heavy heart that we must confirm that today, we lost one student. 2/3
— Mesquite ISD (@mesquiteisdtx) October 3, 2018
Out of respect for the privacy of that child's family, that is all we will confirm at this time. We ask for continued prayers for this family, the Terry Middle School family and our entire MISD community. 3/3
— Mesquite ISD (@mesquiteisdtx) October 3, 2018
Forty-two students were on their way back to Terry Middle School when the bus crashed.
Paramedics were seen treating a girl by the side of the road while dozens of students walked to another bus.
Counselors went to Terry Middle School to meet with students and families as families came to pick up their children.
Jeanette Flores clutched her son outside the school, hours after she got a frightening phone call.
"They're like, 'the bus is on fire, Mom. We got off the bus. We got off the bus and we're running. The bus is on fire. The bus is on fire.' And then we lost contact with him," said Flores.
Bruised and bandaged, students recalled their bus tipping into a roadside culvert.
"The bus just started swerving left to right and then it fell over," said student Sergio Conaway.
"And then we just went into the trees," added student Ernesto Guzman.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
The driver of the bus was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.