Knoxville,
Tennessee
Two
grade school children are among the three people who lost their lives on
Tuesday afternoon in a school bus accident. Officials responded to the
emergency just after 2:50 p.m. on the Asheville Highway in Knoxville.
According
to CBS News, Knox County school bus 44 from Chilhowee Intermediate School
was heading east on the highway when for unknown reasons, the driver veered
over the concrete median and entered oncoming traffic. The 44 bus ended up
colliding with a second Knox County school bus transporting students from
Sunnyview Primary School. Officials said both buses were packed with students
when the crash occurred. The impact caused the second bus to flip over onto its
side. All three of the deceased victims were aboard the second bus.
Children
on both buses told the media they were worried for their lives when they saw
their peers flying out of their seats, screaming and crying on the floor. Joy
Reinmann, a fifth grader at Chilhowee, said she thought she was going to die.
The
victims have been identified as 7-year-old Zykia Burns, 7-year-old Seraya
Glasper and 46-year-old Kimberly Riddle, who was a teacher's assistant at
Sunnyview. Emergency responders treated 27 people for injuries. The most
seriously injured - 7-year-old Jaden Allen and 7-year-old Jada Parman - were
rushed to University of Tennessee Medical Center, along with 47-year-old James
Davenport, the driver of bus 44.
At
this time, officials are uncertain what caused bus 44 to swerve into oncoming
traffic. Investigators will examine the bus for any mechanical issues and
interview the drivers and other witnesses in the coming days to find out what
circumstances led up to this tragedy.
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