2 Students Dead in Ala. School Bus Crash

By DESIREE HUNTER

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A school bus carrying high school students plummeted 30 feet off an interstate overpass Monday, killing two teenage girls and injuring at least 30 other people, several critically, authorities said.

The bus ended up below the I-565 overpass, its front end crushed.

“It looks like the bus plunged headfirst,” police spokesman Wendell Johnson said.

Police Chief Rex Reynolds said officers were looking for a small car that apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to plow through the guardrail on the elevated section of I-565. More than 30 students and the driver were taken to hospitals, where personnel were able to speak with the driver, he said.

Hospital officials said two students were still in the operating room by early afternoon and two others were critical. The wreck was reported just after 10 a.m.

The police chief identified the students killed as Christina Collier, 18, and Nicole Ford, 17.

The bus was carrying students who attend the Huntsville Center for Technology, city schools spokesman Keith Ward said. Reynolds said the bus was on the way to the center when the wreck occurred.

Survivors were wrapped in sheets at the scene as they awaited medical help.

“Huntsville has never seen an accident like this,” Johnson said.