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Cabarrus activity bus flips on I-77; 36 injured
photo by James Nix
Jacob White, shows Officer Ken Sims and his father Rick White a scratch on his elbow he got when the activity bus he was riding overturned on I-77 in Charlotte Wednesday morning. The bus, carrying students from Cox Mill Elementary School, was on it ways to a camp. Sims helped White's parents get to the CMPD office to pick up Jacob.
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Published: April 29, 2009
Updated: 04/29/2009 05:06 pm
CHARLOTTE - It was like a dream, said several students who were on the Cabarrus County Schools activity bus that flipped on Interstate 77 on its way to Camp Thunderbird Wednesday morning.
"At first it didn't seem like it was real, and when we hit the ground, all of the people were on top of me," said Keaton Clark, 11, a fifth grade student sitting near the back of the bus during the accident.
About 58 fifth grade students and three adults were on one of the three buses traveling from Cox Mill Elementary School to Camp Thunderbird in South Carolina for an overnight field trip.
Thirty-six injured students and adults were taken to Carolinas Medical Center or Presbyterian Hospital. Ronnye Boone, director of public relations for the school system, said all but one of the injured passengers have now been released.
An injured student had surgery today and is out and in good condition, said Presbyterian Hospital spokeswoman Marcia Meredith.
The wreck happened around Exit 11, the Brookshire Freeway, on I-77 around 10 a.m.
Boone confirmed that one of the students on the bus in the accident was the daughter of superintendent Barry Shepherd. He arrived on the scene after the accident and told the school system his daughter was not hurt.
"We are thankful that our students, teachers and parents who were on the bus were not injured more seriously," Shepherd said in a press release. "We know that this was a scary situation for all involved, and we'd like to thank the first responders, as well as the good Samaritans who provided assistance until emergency crews arrived on the scene."
Clark, who had some scratches and blood on his ear but did not go to the hospital, said he was one of the first off the bus after a firefighter helped him out.
He said it took about an hour before he and others who did not go to the hospital were escorted to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department headquarters.
Clark said before the bus flipped, he heard that the bus driver, Tonia Crowell, had been trying to open a window to let a bee out but hit a sign and the bus skidded. Clark stopped talking to his friend at that point, just before he said the bus hit a guardrail and flipped on its side.
Clark said he did not see the bus driver trying to get rid of the bee. Jacob White and Chase Stinnard, who were also on that bus, sitting in the middle, said they heard about the bus driver trying to swat the bee, but did not see it.
Boone said the school system did not yet know the cause of the accident and North Carolina Highway Patrol was still investigating it. A reconstruction crew came on the scene to determine what happened.
The bus landed facing northbound, even though it was traveling southbound, the highway patrol said.
Those who did not go to the hospital or were on the other two buses for the field trip were taken to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department where they were given pizza and water. Several children said most of their peers were upset and wanted to call their parents.
"Those kids were emotional," said Mitzi Dempsey, mother of Alysa, 11, who was on one of the other buses not in the accident. "I tried to calm as many of her friends as I could. They were physically shaking."
After arriving at the police department, those who were on the bus in the accident were interviewed and then released. All parents were told to pick up their children at the police station.
As the parents left with their children, many of them had a tight arm around their child's shoulders, some hugging and kissing them as they left.
Connie White, whose son, Jacob, was on the bus in the accident, saw the news about the accident on television and then spotted her son waving to a friend.
"We saw him on the news, and I was jumping up and down," Connie White said.
Many of the parents heard about the accident on the news of from a neighbor, and they also received messages from the school through the ConnectEd system. Boone said the first message went out about an hour after the accident and other came later with updated information.
"The school's got a great response system," said Pam Bregant, whose son, Connor, 10, was on a bus not in the accident.
Bregant said she left her office as soon as she heard about the accident and was probably the third parent to arrive at the police station.
Whether they were on the bus in the accident or on the other two, many of the children were noticeably shaken up, as many had friends on the bus in the accident that were at the hospital.
White said his teacher, Meg Sammons, went to the hospital for a hurt back or shoulder. When the bus flipped on its side, Stinnard said he and other students fell on her.
Many children were anxious to hear from their friends who were injured and to go home.
"We're just happy to be off the bus," Stinnard said.
Boone said around 4 p.m. that, based on the accident and following normal procedures, Crowell is suspended with pay, pending the results of the accident investigation. She has been employed with the school system for almost two years.
• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
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