A school bus carrying 19 students from Westmoreland Middle and High Schools in Sumner County, Tennessee, ended up on its side in a creek bed following a crash, leading to five students being hospitalized with injuries. As reported by WSMV, the Tennessee Highway Patrol stated the bus was navigating Rock House Hollow Road when the driver lost control, entered a creek, and struck a bridge, which caused the bus to flip over.
Further details from FOX 17 News revealed the preliminary report by the Highway Patrol regarding the incident, which clarified that the driver was on the right side of the road prior to hitting a bridge and overturning the vehicle. The initial count of hospitalized students later increased from five to six, with the driver also sustaining minor injuries. All other students were safely accounted for, with 14 of them being released directly to their parents.
Emergency personnel had arrived at the scene of the accident, located on Rock House Hollow Road near Bransford and Westmoreland, and determined that some students had indeed suffered minor injuries, with one initially trapped in the wreckage, according to the response from Smokey Barn News reported by FOX 17 News. The crash was substantial enough to warrant a medical helicopter being put on standby, later canceled after it was assessed that all injuries were minor.
In a statement obtained by The Tennessean, Sumner County Schools spokesperson Jeremy Johnson commented that five students were transported to the hospital by Emergency Medical Services, while a spokesperson for the Highway Patrol indicated that student injuries appeared to not be life-threatening. The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with the crash affecting the community significantly, as the bus, number 612, was carrying students at the time of the incident.
