A 7-year-old girl and her school bus driver were killed and several other students injured in Tennessee Tuesday when the bus and a utility truck were involved in a crash.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the Meigs County school district bus was carrying 22 children when the crash occurred on Highway 58.
Five of the students were airlifted to a regional hospital, and two were taken by ambulance.
District officials said some students were being treated at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, and others were treated at other area hospitals and released.
According to authorities, the Meigs County school bus was traveling south. An electric utility service vehicle was traveling north, veered off the road and then over-corrected by swerving into the bus's lane. The service vehicle went into a side-skid into the front of the bus, officials said.
The driver of the utility vehicle, from Service Electric, is being treated for minor injuries
Authorities investigating the crash will review whether any criminal charges are warranted.
The bus driver, a woman whose identity has not been disclosed, had no opportunity to stop, police said. One of the injured students, a boy, was reported in critical condition after undergoing surgery.
Meigs County schools superintendent Clint Baker said: "Never in your wildest dreams do you know when you walk out the door that you'll deal with something like this. It's a tragedy. No other way to describe it. Keep our families in your prayers."
