A cement truck on a Texas highway veered into a school bus carrying more than 40 preschool children returning from a field trip to a zoo, killing a boy on the bus and a man in another vehicle, authorities said.
Officials said the bus rolled over on the rural outskirts of Austin, where a heavy presence of emergency vehicles shut down traffic for hours. The roof of the bus was crumpled, and much of another vehicle nearby was pulverised. Personal items were strewn across the road.
Four people in critical condition were airlifted from the crash site. Six others with potentially serious injuries were transported by ambulance, said Kevin Parker, division chief Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
An ambulance bus transported about 10 other patients to a children’s hospital with minor injuries, Parker said. Passengers on the bus included 44 preschool pupils and 11 adults, according to the Hays Consolidated Independent School District.
The bus was struck about 2pm local time when a concrete truck travelling in the opposite direction veered into its lane, Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Deon Cockrell said.
