Two adults were killed Friday afternoon when their passenger vehicle collided with a school bus in Mesa, and the bus driver was rushed to a hospital with injuries of unknown severity. No students were on the bus at the time of the crash, which happened around 4:30 p.m.
Both adult occupants of the passenger vehicle sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Mesa Police Det. Jose Aguirre, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The station reported the crash happened near Southern Avenue and 80th Street, though other outlets have placed the intersection differently — ABC15 described the location as near East Coutner Avenue and South 80th Street, while AZFamily reported it occurred near Southern Avenue and Hawes Road.
Bus Driver Hospitalized, No Kids Aboard
The school bus driver was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment, and his condition was not known at the time of FOX 10's report. Importantly, no students were aboard the bus during the crash, according to Mesa police, easing fears of a mass-casualty scenario even as the two fatalities in the passenger vehicle made the collision a tragic one for that family.
Investigators had not determined the cause of the collision as of the initial report, and the victims' names had not been released. The lack of answers leaves the circumstances of how the vehicles collided — and why — still under investigation by Mesa police.
Road Closures Followed the Crash
Westbound lanes of Southern Avenue were closed at Hawes Road while the investigation continued, per the same account from ABC15, which also reported that officers responded to the scene around 4:30 p.m. Friday. The closures reflected the scope of the police response to a crash that claimed two lives in a matter of moments during the evening commute.
Mesa police have not released additional details on the victims, the cause of the crash, or the bus driver's condition following his hospitalization. As is often the case in the immediate aftermath of a fatal collision, much remains unknown, and authorities have not indicated when further information might be released.
