HOUSTON, Texas — Two high school students were killed after a Houston Independent School District school bus plunged from an overpass early Tuesday morning. The bus driver and two other students have been seriously injured. All survivors have suffered injuries.
The bus was headed to Furr High School in southeast Houston and occurred about 7 a.m., CDT.
Photographs of the bus show that the school bus landed on its side, and the front of the bus was very mangled. The guardrail at Interstate 610’s South Loop was heavily damaged.
According to KHOU 11 News, Houston Police Department investigators said that a late-model Buick LeSabre on the left-hand side of the bus thought that a car was going to drift into their lane. The Buick then shifted over into the school bus to avoid the other vehicle. The bus driver tried to avert the accident when the Buick over-corrected, and ended up plunging off the overpass into the road below.
Terry Grier, Superintendent of HISD schools said, “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy.” The superintendent of the largest public school district in Texas added, “I ask all of the HISD community to join me in praying for all of those involved.”
“The State of Texas mourns the loss of Texas students today in a tragedy no parent should ever have to experience,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “Cecilia and I send our thoughts and prayers to the families affected by this heartbreaking incident, and I ask all Texans to support and keep Houston ISD and its community in their thoughts and prayers as they heal from this loss.”
The Houston Independent School District is the seventh largest school district in the United States containing 283 schools and 215,000 students.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and an associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2