A tractor trailer slammed into a tan SUV, crushing it into a white pickup which slammed into and under a Miller County School bus on Thursday afternoon.
A grandmother, waiting on the side of the road to retrieve her grandchildren from the bus, was struck by one of the vehicles and, according to one witness, thrown some distance away.
Local citizens, hearing the crash responded to help. Tim Gibson of T&N Upholstery told us he and Michael Yates cut the seatbelts off the 2 children seatbelted in the back seat of the SUV. Tim then stayed with them until EMS arrived. Jennifer Hill, also of T&N, held the grandmother's hand, waiting for EMS, assuring her that her grand kids were not injured. The pickup truck driver had to be extricated from the vehicle.
We believe there was 6 seriously injured persons lifeflight to Tallahassee. The semi driver was lifeflighted from the scene and the others lifeflighted after being transported to Miller County Hospital.
Our understanding is the driver of the pickup, an Ebersole man, an occupant of the SUV, the Smith family, and the grandmother on the side of the roadway were all lifeflighted. The 6 to 8 children on the bus did not appear to be seriously injured.
State Trooper Cpl Kyle Duke stated the school bus was stopped letting children off when the tractor trailer topped the hill and rear-ended the vehicles. He stated that he believed there were a total of 10 injuries as of the time we spoke with him. Cpl Duke stated the GSP SCRT, Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, was on their way to the scene.
