Teenager faces long road to recovery after SUV hits school bus, flipping it on its side
Bus crash victim in recovery after 4 surgeries
One of the students on a bus that rolled over after it was crashed into by an SUV on April 1 is on the long road to recovery. Her mom was shocked to discover the news on April Fool's Day. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas has the story.
MARANA, Ariz. - On April 1, the driver of an SUV crashed into the side of a bus full of students from Kingman, causing the bus to roll onto its side along Interstate 10.
Katie Holmes, 17, was headed to a school conference when her life was literally flipped upside down.
She remembers calling her mom to let her know what had happened. A conversation hard for any parent to hear.
Why you should care:
"My response was, it's April Fools Day. This isn't funny," said mom Julie Holmes. "You know, I'm teaching my class and she said, 'no, mom. We rolled the bus. I'm really hurt' and it was… it was heartbreaking. Everything just stopped."
Katie was one of several Lee Williams High School students rushed to the hospital.
"At that point, it's the hardest, hardest thing ever to think the worst. When someone tells you, you need to pull over," said Julie.
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Doctors told her Katie's injuries were more extreme than expected and they needed to operate on her.
"She had four surgeries," said Julie.
Katie said getting out of surgery, knowing people were there for her made all the difference.
"I had the first one and I didn't get out for about 5 hours, I think. So when I actually got out, most of the people were actually waiting for me, which was honestly so nice. I don't know what I would have done if I were alone," said Katie.
What we know:
Katie remembers the moments surrounding the crash.
"Once we started going back the other way, I started to realize that there was an issue and once I started to see the bus tilt, I looked up and I noticed things were starting to turn sideways. And I was like, okay, we're doing this," Katie said.
"When I opened my eyes there was plenty of dust. So much I held my breath until I got out of the bus."
She's spent every day since in the hospital with family, friends and stuffed animals by her side.
"It's going to be a long, long period of time before this settles and I think it's going to keep going until Mr. Rodriguez is convicted," said her mom Julie.
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What's next:
The driver of the SUV - Nicolas Rodriguez - tested positive for marijuana and, according to court documents, admitted to smoking marijuana two days before.
He's accused of three felony counts of aggravated assault and is being held on a $100,000 bond.
What you can do:
A GoFundMe page was created to help support Katie's recovery.