Texas school bus with over 40 pre-K students struck by cement truck, killing 2, authorities say

A cement truck veered into a school bus carrying more than 40 pre-K students returning from a field trip to a Texas zoo Friday, killing a boy on the bus and a man in another vehicle, authorities said.

Officials said the bus rolled over on the highway in the rural outskirts of Austin. The roof of the bus was crumpled, and another vehicle nearby was badly damaged. Personal items were strewn across the road.

In addition to the two people who died, 51 were injured, including the bus driver, schools officials said.

Four people in critical condition were airlifted from the crash site and six others with potentially serious injuries were transported by ambulance, said Kevin Parker, division chief Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

An ambulance bus transported about 10 other patients to a children’s hospital with minor injuries, Parker said. Passengers on the bus included 44 students and 11 adults, according to the Hays Consolidated Independent School District.

The child who died “was a precious young boy” who was a pre-K student at Tom Green Elementary School in Buda, southwest of Austin, according to Eric Wright, school district superintendent. The child’s name was not released.

“This is a horrible and tragic day for our school district,” Wright said.

The bus was struck at about 2 p.m. when the concrete truck traveling in the opposite direction veered into the bus’ lane, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Deon Cockrell said.

The man who was killed was in a vehicle that ran into the back of the bus or part of the concrete truck, Cockrell said. There was one person in the truck and one man in the other vehicle. Cockrell didn’t know how fast the vehicles were going. He said the truck driver was cooperating with authorities.

Parents of the students on the bus were notified of the crash and all the children were reunited with their families by the evening, Wright said.

Cynthia Yescas said her 4-year-old nephew had been on the bus and that he was slightly injured but OK, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

“The kids are more scared than anything else,” she said.

The bus didn’t have seatbelts because it was a 2011 model, Tim Savoy, a Hays school district spokesperson, told the newspaper. New buses have been fitted with belts since 2017, he said.