By Dennis Romero -
NBC News
Two people died, including a child, and at least 10 others were injured when a school bus carrying preschool students crashed this Friday in a rural area of Texas, authorities reported.
Deon Crockell, a sergeant with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said two people were killed in the collision in Bastrop County, along State Highway 21, about 50 miles east of Austin.
A child on the bus was killed, and the other victim was in a Dodge Charger that had been following the bus when it was struck by an oncoming cement truck, he said.
The Austin-Travis County Department of Emergency Medical Services reported that four of the injured were taken to hospitals by helicopter, and three others were apparently taken to medical centers in ambulances.Getty Images
Four of the injured were taken to hospitals by helicopter and are in critical condition, said Kevin Parker, commander of Austin-Travis County EMS.
Six others were taken to hospitals by ground ambulance and had potentially serious injuries, he added.
Cockrell said state traffic investigators were trying to
understand the cause of the accident
, including why the cement truck appeared to have made a wrong turn.
During the collision, the bus overturned, authorities said.
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The Hays Consolidated Independent School District said in a statement that the bus was transporting preschool students from Tom Green Elementary School who were returning from a field trip to the Capital of Texas Zoo in Cedar Creek, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) southeast. from Austin.
It was reported that 44 students and 11 adults were on the bus.
The school is about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Austin.
The district said its bus “was involved in a serious accident early this [Friday] afternoon” and that “parents of students on the bus have been directly notified.”
Counselors and other district staff were sent to the scene of the accident or to a reunification point established for parents, the district said.
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was praying for people who lost loved ones in the crash.
“I am
shocked and deeply saddened
to hear about the school bus accident in Bastrop County today [Friday],” he said in a message on the social platform X.
Authorities asked the public to avoid the accident area.