A school bus driver and a high school student were killed Tuesday morning in a fire on a school bus in western Iowa.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that the fire occurred on a bus from the Riverside (Iowa) Community School District that was in the driveway of the house near Oakland, Iowa, where the student lived.
The driver was identified as Donnie Hendricks, 74, of Carson, Iowa. The student was identified as Megan Klindt, 16, who lived at the farm where the bus fire occurred.
The two were unable to get off the burning bus, police say. Firefighters found the bus engulfed in flames when they arrived.
Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Lt. Rob Ambrose says the victims were the only two people on board the bus.
The bus apparently crashed as it was backing out of the driveway at the house; it ended up in a ditch on the opposite side of the road.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire,
The farm where the fire occurred is off a rural gravel road about six miles east and two miles south of Oakland, which is about 25 miles east of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Timothy Mitchell, the superintendent of the Riverside district, says all after-school activities had been canceled for the day.
"The entire community of the Riverside Community School District is deeply saddened by the events of this morning," Mitchell said in a prepared statement. "We would like to thank everyone who has offered assistance. Once again, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is impacted by this tragic event."
