1 student dead, several injured after Mesquite ISD bus crashes, catches fire
MESQUITE, Texas - One student was killed and several others were injured after a Mesquite ISD bus was involved in a fiery crash Wednesday afternoon.
The accident happened on Lawson Road near Interstate 20 around 3:45 p.m. There were 42 students on board at the time.
Mesquite police said the bus somehow rolled into a ditch. On the way down, the bus hit a power line, sparking a fire.
Donald Hodge lives in the area. He was on his way to pick up his daughter from a school nearby and drove up on the accident.
"It was fully engulfed. I was like, 'Wow, there's kids on there,'" Hodge said. "Oh, it was bad. It was like a house in flames."
First responders and people in the area rushed to get 38 students back to safety at Terry Middle School. The bus driver, three students and three police officers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
A few hours later, Mesquite ISD confirmed that one student had tragically died at the scene.
Another student who was on the bus said everyone tried to help the student that passed away, but no one was able to.
"MISD employees and first responders acted quickly & risked their own lives to save these children," the district said in a tweet. "We know these citizens saved many lives tonight and we are deeply moved by and thankful for their heroic acts."
Samantha Conaway's 12-year-old son, Sergio, was on the bus.
"The thought of what he said happened to one of the students and what they had to see and what they went through -- that's scary," she said.
Parents received panicked phone calls from their children on board. Some drove to the site of the crash.
Corie Ford got a call from a man using her son's phone. She's still not sure who called her. She arrived at Terry Middle School as the bus filled with students with non-life threatening injuries pulled up.
But even the students who were not considered to have major injuries left with cuts and bruises. The school nurse used the library for triage.
Conaway opted to take her son to the hospital and is thankful he's alive.
"That's something I don't want to think about," she said.
The name of the middle school student that was killed has not been released.
Police are still investigating the crash and trying to determine the cause. There were no other vehicles involved.