Posted on 06/24/2002 12:31:27 PM PDT by WellsFargo94
ast modified: 02:06 PM CDT on Monday, June 24, 2002 Five killed in church bus crash near Terrell
Teens were headed to religious retreat in Louisiana
06/24/2002
From Staff Reports
A chartered bus carrying 40 young people from Garland to a church camp in Louisiana crashed into a concrete bridge abutment Monday morning on Interstate 20 near Terrell.
At least five people on the bus were killed, including the driver. "There's many, many that are injured," said Dave Eden, associate pastor at Metro Church of Garland, where the bus trip originated.
Rev. Eden said he had been in telephone contact with some of the passengers on the bus that crashed and on a second bus. Three of his own children were on the second bus, which was diverted to First Baptist Church in Canton.
"They just said that the bus tipped over and hit the pole, and everybody was freaking out and screaming," Rev. Eden said. He said the 40 young people on the bus included students in grades 6 through 12. Two adult counselors and the driver were also on board.
A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said they are looking into the possibility that the bus driver fell asleep as he approached the overpass with County Road 315 in Kaufman County. There were no skid marks.
Witnesses told police the bus had been weaving just before the crash.The official cause remains under investigation.
Eight helicopter ambulances responded to a call for help from the scene about three miles east of Terrell.
The victims were taken to hospitals in Dallas and Terrell. Church elder Joe Courrege said between 35 to 40 people on the bus had been taken to hospitals.
Aerial views showed the wreckage of the bus that crashed into a bridge pillar.
Dozens of emergency workers were caring for victims of the crash.
"There was bodies laying all over the ground," said College Mound Fire Chief Jimmy Council, who was first to arrive at the scene. "I've been a medic since '78. This is the worst I've seen."
Chief Council said almost everyone on the bus was injured.
Rescue teams were still working to remove some bodies from the wreckage three hours after the accident.
Eastbound I-20 was shut down and traffic was backed up for miles.
Church officials say the bus was one of two carrying about 100 teens to a week-long church camp in Ruston, Louisiana.
Concerned family members -- some in tears, others holding hands -- gathered at Metro Church waiting for information about victims of the crash.
Larry Like arrived hoping to learn the fate of his 13-year-old son who was on one of the buses. "This is the fallenness of this world," Mr. Like said. "We all have to face death. I'm praying for my son to be alive, and yet there's going to be pain."
Students at the church had washed cars to raise money for their trip to the church camp in Louisiana.
Counselors from other area churches came to help if they could. Metro Church pastors fanned out to hospitals to help comfort families.
By noon, Methodist Medical Center in Dallas had received three patients. One victim was taken to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas; nine were at Children's Medical Center in Dallas; four went to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas; two were transported to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler and another was being treated at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler.
Cody Kittleson, 13, was in fair condition at Baylor. “This is a horrible tragedy and a horrible time," said Metro Church deacon Sean Burns. "There's a reason this happened. I don't know what that reason is, but this is a terrible tragedy."
Nevertheless, Mr. Burns said some good would come from the tragedy. "Metro is a very close body of believers," he said. "Because of this tragedy, their faith will be strengthened."
"I'm sure it will be a test for many," Mr. Courrege added. "We would ask that all believers pray."
Garland Mayor Bob Day issued a statement saying: "The City of Garland is deeply saddened by the tragic accident involving Metro Church of Garland. We offer our condolences for the loss of life and our prayers for the injured."
Metro Church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and is a member of the Collin Baptist Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.The church's Web site says it has more than 1,000 members.
Terrell is about 30 miles east of Dallas.
At least 21 people have now been killed on I-20 in Texas this year.
Two Shreveport, La. woman died Sunday when the driver of their family's sport utility vehicle fell asleep and their car left the highway.
Six members of a Fort Worth family perished when their SUV crashed into a parked truck on June 10.
On June 9, three people died when a Greyhound bus rear-ended a tractor trailer near Colorado City in West Texas.
A tour bus crashed near Marshall on May 26, killing one passenger and injuring dozens.
This story includes contributions from: Dallas Web Staff reporter Kimberly Durnan, WFAA-TV reporter Brad Watson and Dallas Morning News reporters Jennifer Emily, Selwyn Crawford, Richard Abshire and Tim Higgins.
E-mail: wzwirko@dallasnews.com
:)
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