A charter bus taking university students to a fraternity event crashed in southern Mississippi on Friday afternoon, injuring 11 people, including 10 students and the driver.
Mississippi highway patrol said 56 college students were on board when the bus crashed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 10 in Hancock county. Nine students were taken to local hospitals by ambulance, while the driver and another student were airlifted from the scene in critical condition.
The incident took place when a tire on the bus blew out, forcing the driver, 55-year-old Tina Wilson, to stand up to hold onto the wheel, according to Bay St Louis police chief Toby Schwartz.
Schwartz told WLOX: “According to what students said, she stood on that steering wheel with every ounce of energy to keep that steering wheel straight.”
At one point, the bus began to lean and was traveling on two wheels, Schwartz said. When the bus came back down on all wheels, the windshield shattered and the driver was ejected. A student, Paul Clune, then grabbed the steering wheel and regained control of the bus, bringing it to a stop, he said.
“If that bus had flipped, we would have had casualties,” Schwartz recalled. “It’s the bus driver and student that saved those kids. The bus driver is an incredible hero.”
The University of South Carolina said the bus had been carrying “USC fraternity members and their guests traveling to an event in New Orleans”.
“Our thoughts go out to the students involved in the accident and those affected by it,” the university said in a statement.
The college fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon commended its member “who acted instantaneously to take control of the bus and prevent further tragedy”, adding: “The safety of these students is our top concern and we are grateful to first responders and all those providing care.”
The crash remains under investigation by the Mississippi highway patrol.
