On June 13, 2013, a bus that was carrying high school students back home from a trip to Eastern Kentucky University went out of control and crashed. The accident happened on Interstate 64 in Jefferson County. Thirty students from Waggener High School in Louisville were taken to the local hospitals with an array of injuries. Four adults who were on the bus, including the bus driver, were injured.
The injured were taken to five different hospitals. All injured were reported at the time to be in stable condition.
Norton Healthcare spokeswoman Maggie Roetker told media, “21 children were taken to three of its hospitals. Four remained hospitalized.”
Trauma surgeon at the University Hospital, Dr. Glen Franklin, said, ” Eleven people were taken to University Hospital and nine were admitted, all in stable condition.”
Law enforcement investigating the crash are looking into the possibility of mechanical failure as the cause. Specifically, they are looking into tire issues.
A video of the crash was recorded from the dashboard of a truck. The video shows the bus veering left across three lanes of traffic then striking a concrete median. The accident left a trail of debris on the roadway.
Lynn Wehling, the driver of the truck that recorded the crash told media, ” It looked like the bus’s front left tire blew out. It swerved to the left really hard and hit the barrier.” Wehling was a few cars behind the bus when he saw the crash unfold.
He was traveling westbound on I-64 near mile marker 23 when white smoke appeared, and the bus swerved from the far right lane into the left median.
All of the students aboard the bus will be juniors and seniors this upcoming school year. The adults on the bus were all staff members from the high school.
The kids were being transported to the University by a chartered bus service. The accident happened around 2:30 p.m. near the Jefferson-Shelby county line. The high school students were taking part in a program that gives them the opportunity to visit college campuses.
Waggener had sent seventy-two students to Eastern Kentucky University on two buses. When the students arrived at the University, they toured the campus from 10:30 a.m. until noon. After lunch they boarded the buses and headed back to Louisville. The second bus was not involved in the accident. The bus not involved in the wreck eventually returned safely to the high school, where parents waited to pick them up.
The bus involved in the crash had 41 people on board. The passengers included 36 students. Eleven of the injured were taken to UOFL Hospital. Nine had been admitted, all were in stable condition. Seven people remained hospitalized for days after the accident. All were in fair condition, with injuries that include broken bones.
“He’s hurting. His nose is broken, and he may have bruised ribs,” said Victoria Mukes-Gully, whose son was injured in the accident.
Andrea Clifford, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman said, “a second accident occurred nearby in the eastbound lanes of I-64.”