Pileup Behind School Bus Kills One

A pileup behind a school bus unloading kids on SH 71 near West Point ended with one fatality and multiple injuries

Two separate crashes happened around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, in front of the Tuck Stop RV Park just east of West Point. A La Grange ISD school bus had stopped in the westbound outside lane of the highway to unload students at the location. An 18-wheeler pulling a box trailer stopped behind the bus in the outside lane and a black Range Rover stopped in the inside lane.

Trooper Josh Berger with the Texas Highway Patrol investigated the crash. Berger said a white Ford pickup, which belonged to Fayette Water Supply Corporation, struck the Range Rover in the rear and slid between the school bus and a tree. It continued off the road to the right and then struck the corner of a house in the RV park 

As that crash occurred, a white Hyundai car driven by a woman from Austin approached the scene in the inside lane behind the Range Rover. There is a concrete barrier between the east- and westbound lanes of traffic at that location. Berger said he believes the woman saw the wreck ahead of her and tried to avoid it

Unable to go left, Berger said he believes she steered to the right. Unfortunately, the front driver’s side corner of her car crashed into the rear right corner of the trailer. The bottom of the trailer stood about eye-level with the driver. The impact peeled the roof off the car. She was killed instantly Fayette County EMS transported the driver of the Ford pickup to St. David’s Hospital in South Austin. They also transported a person from the Range Rover to Ascension Seton Hospital in Smithville. La Grange Volunteer Fire Department responded and helped extricate the injured parties and the deceased female. They also worked traffic control, and the highway was shut down intermittently for two hours while emergency workers cleared the wreckage.

Thankfully, the bus was not hit and no students were physically injured, although some of them may have seen the traumatic wreck unfold. La Grange ISD issued a statement Tuesday evening informing parents about the crash.

“The children riding on the Route 6 bus did see some of the damaged vehicles and may have witnessed trauma,” the statement said. “The mental health of our students and staff is a top priority and we have our school counselors on standby to assist students in the morning if they choose. Our prayers are extended to all involved including police, fire, EMS, and dispatch personnel.”

Lt. David Beyer of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said deputies have stepped up patrols in that area ever since a scary incident involving the same bus stop last month. On April 17, he said, a red car failed to stop behind the bus and passed it in the shoulder. Thankfully, the children had not yet exited the bus when the car passed by. A camera on the bus captured video of the incident. The Sheriff’s Office posted it on their Facebook page. The car’s license plate was unreadable, and deputies were unable to find the car

In addition, Beyer said a deputy patrolling the bus stop on Monday, May 6, stopped a vehicle for passing the bus while it was unloading kids. The deputy issued that driver a citation, he said.