Houston school bus driver: I thought I was going to die
HOUSTON -- A school bus driver says she thought she was about to die as the bus plunged off a Houston highway overpass in an accident that killed two students.
Louisa Pacheco was discharged from a hospital Tuesday night. The wreck happened during the Tuesday morning rush hour, apparently after a car swerved and hit the bus.
"I think I was going to die," Pacheco told CBS affiliate KHOU-TV as she left the hospital following treatment for cuts and bruises. She said she felt something hit the left side of the bus. "After this, I don't remember nothing."
The bus went through the guardrail and plummeted off the overpass, landing on its side, its front end heavily damaged and its roof caved in.
A female student died at the scene and another died at a hospital, authorities said.
Two other Houston Independent School District students were hospitalized with serious injuries. District officials didn't announce update to their conditions early Wednesday.
Mourners left flowers, balloons and stuffed bears in a makeshift memorial at the site of the accident. The bus had been heading for Furr High School; counselors were being made available at the school Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board was assisting Houston police to investigate the crash.