An East Texas track team school bus was hit by a tractor-trailer truck on U.S. 271 just south of the town of Talco on Thursday night, killing two people and injuring numerous others.
The Mount Pleasant High School's track team was returning home after a meet in Paris, Texas, when the tractor-trailer veered into oncoming traffic at about 10:45 p.m., the Dallas Morning News reported.
Mount Pleasant school district officials said that a coach driving the bus veered right to avoid the accident, but the tractor-trailer slammed into the side of the bus, causing it to roll over, KTVT-TV reported.
A car traveling behind the bus, driven by a Mount Pleasant female assistant track coach, was hit by the 18-wheeler head-on, killing the assistant coach, according to the television station.
The track coach who died was identified as Angelica Beard, 30. The driver of the tractor-trailer, who also died in the accident, was identified as Bradley Ray Farmer, 50, of Bogard, Missouri, Texas Department of Public Safety officials told KLTV.
Mount Pleasant Independent School District superintendent Judd Marshall told KLTV that 18 of the roughly 32 students on the bus were taken to hospitals, but he did not know how many were admitted. Three coaches were also transported with one, Van Bowen, in critical condition, the television station reported.
Marshall told KLTV that Bowen underwent surgery that was successful, "but he's got a lot going on and he's got a long road to go."
Marshall added, according to WFAA-TV, that another bus carrying members of the school's girls track team was several miles behind the wrecked school bus and was not involved in the accident.
Marshall told the television station that Friday would be a normal school day at Mount Pleasant but counselors will be brought in.
"We’ve got 5,400 students in our district," Marshall told KLTV. "We didn't feel we had enough time to do that [cancel or change class start time]."
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