Apr 5, 2008 11:14 pm US/Central
Officials Work To Find Cause Of Fatal Bus Rollover
(WCCO)
The Minnesota State Patrol is trying to figure out why a bus rolled on its side this morning in Albertville.
It was a tour bus full of Pelican Rapids High School students coming home from a four day band trip in Chicago. One sixteen year old girl died in the crash. Many others were hurt.
The accident happened on Westbound Interstate 94 at Wright County Road 37, east of the Albertville Outlet Mall.
The girl who died was Jessica Weishair of Barnesville.
"At some point the windows on the bus popped out and I must have got dragged a little bit on the dirt," said Steve Larson, a chaperone on the bus. "Everybody will be closer, that's just the way the community is, that's what I've seen with the parents and kids already."
The bus driver was 69-year-old Loren Ernst of Moorhead. He was treated and released.
There were 49 people on the bus. 43 were students. They were taken to four different hospitals. Five of the passengers were still in the hospital Saturday night. One student was in critical condition.
The accident happened around 5:45 Saturday morning.
There were actually two buses full of kids traveling together home from Chicago. A WCCO Radio listener was traveling behind the two tour buses just before the crash.
"The one in front actually -- either the guy fell asleep or whatever, but he went airborne and then landed on his side and and then just slid. Luckily he slid the way he did, because he slid straight forward," said the caller.
The bus ended up on the grassy shoulder of westbound I-94. The other bus was not involved. The witness said it looked like the bus was traveling 70 to 75 mph when it rolled.
"When we were there most people were just getting out. There definitely were injuries there. It was quite a surreal event," added the caller. "They pulled the driver out. The driver was fine. Most of the kids came up through the top, there was an emergency aft up at the top."
19 of the injured went to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. 16-year-old Haley Hoyer was pinned in the crash and suffered a fractured ankle. The others had bumps and bruises. A hospital spokesperson said the students were a little shaken and most didn't see what happened.
"It was dark. Most of them were asleep. They don't know what happened, but they woke up when there was a crash and they said paramedics came right away and they came to the hospital right away," said Gloria O'Connel, a Mercy Hospital Spokesperson."
Westbound I-94 near the County Road 37 bridge stayed closed for several hours as investigators collected evidence.
At this point, the state patrol is not speculating on a cause.
Many parents rushed from their northern Minnesota hometown to Albertville... where they were reunited with their children at the St. Albert Parish Hall.
In the chaotic hours after the bus crash, Pelican Rapids students sorted out their belongings at an Albertville parking lot. Much tougher was sorting out their emotions after the death and injury of classmates.
"Very traumatic for the children, obviously, as well as the parents. I mean it's a small town. So, describe the mood? Very, very somber. Very, very serious. You're talking about the death of one of their classmates," said Lt. Mark Peterson, with the Minnesota State Patrol.
Shaken Pelican Rapids High School students were taken to St. Albert Parish Hall, where they waited.
Part of the trauma came many hours later as one waiting student was taken away by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
As some parents left for home with their children, investigators created a crude drawing board of a bus seating chart and questioned students about the moments before the crash.
"Suffice it to say that, it left the road and turned onto its side and obviously we are going to find out the reasons that it did leave the road," said Peterson.
What is known is that two buses carrying students left the Chicago area school at 10:00 Friday night after a band competition, driving all night until the crash. Investigators would not say if a possible cause was the driver falling asleep.
"It is not illegal for them to drive through the night. There is nothing statutorily that prohibits that. But we will look at the driver and the vehicle as part of our investigation," said Peterson.
The state patrol's major accident investigation team will be reconstructing the crash.
The commercial vehicle division will be looking at the mechanics of the bus.
Pelican Rapids is in Otter Tail County. It's about an hour from Moorhead.
The bus that didn't tip over arrived at the Pelican Rapids High School Saturday. It was an emotional homecoming for students.
A charter bus that replaced the tipped bus arrived in Pelican Rapids just before 5:00 Saturday evening.
Grief counselors will be on hand at the school for the next couple of days to help students deal with the tragedy.
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