12-year-old girl dies in school bus crash in Texas

Mesquite district bus left the road, overturned, then caught fire after hitting a utility pole.

A 12-year-old girl has died after a school bus a school bus carrying 42 students rolled into a ditch and caught fire in Mesquite, Texas.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Jazmine Alfaro, a student at Terry Middle School in the Mesquite district, died after being trapped when the bus she was riding in overturned.

Police says that more than 40 students from Terry Middle were on the bus when it crashed just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. The bus ignited after a power line fell onto it after it struck a utility pole.

Witnesses say that before the bus tipped, the back tires on the right side of the bus left the roadway, so the driver steered to the left into oncoming traffic. He then overcorrected and swerved back to the right before the bus left the roadway and rolled onto its side in a ditch.

A GoFundMe set up for Jazmine's family raised more than $5,000 Thursday.

The driver was identified in the police report as 67-year-old John Johnson. He was hospitalized Wednesday in good condition. Mesquite District officials say the driver was hired in 2011 and had no record of accidents during his time with the district.

Three other students were taken to hospitals from the crash scene, and all were later released.

MORE. YouTube video from WFAA-TV:

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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