BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
SALYERSVILLE — A Monday morning school bus accident in Magoffin County sent 18 students and the driver to area medical centers with varying degrees of injury. Three were airlifted due to the seriousness of their conditions.
The Magoffin County School District reported Monday evening that 11 students had been treated and released from the hospital while the remaining students and driver were still hospitalized.
Kentucky State Police Post 9 in Pikeville received a call at 7:21 a.m. Monday reporting Magoffin County school bus No. 2030 had crashed over a steep embankment as it was traveling westbound on Route 40/Horsepen Fork near Mine Fork Road not far from Salyersville.
According to the Salyersville Independent, witnesses initially reported the bus appeared to drop off the payment and into the ditch, then reenter the roadway. The driver appeared to have overcorrected, crossing both lanes and over the embankment, striking and cutting a utility pole in half. The bus landed on its passenger side. The newspaper reported the female driver was ejected and partially pinned under the bus.
Magoffin County School District released a statement Monday morning saying the bus was carrying elementary, middle and high school students. The statement said there were fatalities, but three on board suffered serious injuries and were flown to trauma centers for specialized care.
“This is not something you ever want to deal with as school personnel. Those kids come to us and they become our kids, and to see and deal with what’s happened is the toughest part of the business,” said Meadows during an afternoon press conference.
Emily Gipson, who identified herself on Facebook as the daughter of the driver who was seriously injured in the crash and the mother of an injured student, posted this comment Monday afternoon:
“Mom’s on her way to UK and we are at Cabell with (juvenile daughter), they are trying to find her a room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. They are trying to stabilize her leg until they know what exactly has to be done to fix it. Mom has broken legs (multiple breaks), a shattered pelvis and multiple fractures in her spine. She’s in and out of consciousness and in a lot of pain so please keep praying. I know there were other babies with varying injuries ranging from broken limbs to head injuries and so on. Pray for those babies and their families and please, please pray for my momma.”
Due to the location of the bus following the crash, it took multiple tow trucks and heavy equipment to haul it up the steep embankment and onto the roadway. It was then hauled to a secure location to allow accident reconstructionists and investigators to examine it.
KSP Trooper Michael Coleman with the Pikeville Post said more information would be forthcoming. Counselors will be at schools in the Magoffin County district to assist students and staff with the reality of the situation.
Multiple fire departments, police agencies, first responders and ambulance crews responded to the scene. Route 40 was closed for approximately five hours before reopening to traffic.
