The driver of a school bus that crashed into a tree in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing at least five elementary schoolchildren, was arrested late Monday, officials said.
At least 24 children, in kindergarten to fifth grade, were transported to hospitals after the crash, Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher said at a news conference late Monday night. Five children died, according to Chattanooga police.
The Associated Press previously reported the death count at six but said Tuesday morning that it was unable to confirm the sixth fatality.
Fletcher could not confirm the condition of the injured children, and said not all of them had yet been reunited with their families.
“I hope as deeply and as passionately as I can that there are no more,” Fletcher said of the number of fatalities. “This is an absolute nightmare for this community.”
The school bus was carrying 35 children from Woodmore Elementary at about 3:30 p.m. Monday when it turned on its side and wrapped around a tree, the Associated Press reported.
Police charged the driver, Johnthony Walker, 24, with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving, Fletcher said. Walker could face additional charges as the investigation continues. The school bus was the only vehicle involved in the crash, Fletcher said, and investigators believe it may have hit “some sort of utility pole.”
Authorities have issued a warrant to remove the black box from the school bus and review video evidence from the bus, Fletcher said. The National Transportation Safety Board said that a team would be sent to Chattanooga on Tuesday morning to investigate the crash.
“Our hearts go out, as well as the heart’s of all the people around me, to the family, the neighborhood, the school and all the people involved in this,” Fletcher, who was standing with local officials, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “We assure you we’re doing everything we can to help everybody be as safe as they can, get the care they need and get the support they need.”
Pictures posted to social media showed the bus on its side, apparently split by a large tree.
A woman was heard screaming outside a Chattanooga hospital Monday night as a group of people gathered around, hugging her, according to WSB-TV reporter Rikki Klaus. A chaplain, Dwight Wilson, told Klaus that he prayed with and comforted two families at the hospital Monday night – one whose child died, another whose child survived.
Parents of Woodmore students were seen running up the street toward the hospital, and families filled the waiting room, the Times Free Press reported.
Classes would continue Tuesday at Woodmore, and counselors would be available, Kirk Kelly, Hamilton County Schools interim superintendent, told the Times Free Press.
When asked whether speed or alcohol was involved in the crash, Fletcher on Monday night told reporters those factors were part of the investigation, adding: “Certainly, speed is being investigated very, very strongly as a factor in this crash.”
“It was clear and dry. You saw the conditions today,” he said. “There did not appear to be any roadway conditions. But it is a complicated crime scene. It covers a significant area. I can’t tell you if there were any issues, there were none that jumped out. Right now, it appears that one contributing factor may be speed. But that is part of an active, ongoing investigation.”
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke called the crash “horrible” and said it was a tragic loss for the community.
“There are no words to comfort the broken heart of a mother or father,” Berke tweeted Monday night. “As I pray for families affected by tragedy, I ask you to do the same.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, R, called the crash a “tragic event,” the AP reported.
“We’re going to do everything we can to assist in any way,” Haslam said. “It’s a sad situation anytime there’s a school bus with children involved, which there is in this case.”
Photos on social media showed a line stretching out the door at Blood Assurance in Chattanooga as residents rushed to donate blood. Blood Assurance tweeted that it would extend its hours to accept blood donations.
On Tuesday, the Chattanooga Fire Department posted a reminder that one patient can use hundreds of units to blood and encouraged people to continue donating their blood as a way to help.
Fletcher called the bus crash “every public safety professional’s worst nightmare.”
“We can’t even begin to imagine how much worse it is for the families, the friends and the loved ones of the victims,” he added.
Monday’s crash was the second school bus crash in Tennessee in the past week. Twenty-three students were hospitalized Friday after a school bus in Nashville crashed and rolled over an interstate off-ramp Friday, the AP reported. None suffered life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Featured Image: Hamilton County
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Sarah Larimer
