My alarm clock went off this morning, and this is the story they were reporting. Not a good story to wake up to.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060126/ap_on_re_us/school_bus_crash

LAKE BUTLER, Fla. - A car full of siblings headed home was crushed between a truck and a stopped school bus, killing the seven adopted children just two miles from where they lived.

ADVERTISEMENT

Investigators were trying to understand why the driver of a truck hit the car from behind, pushing it in to the bus that was carrying nine students.

Everyone in the car was killed Wednesday, including the 15-year-old girl who was driving illegally. Tina Mann told CNN that her niece, who had a learner's permit, had dropped off another child and was taking her siblings home "to get ready to go to church."

"Even though she was an underage driver, it's my understanding she did not cause the accident," Mann told CNN. "The same thing would have happened had there been an adult in the car with her. We'd just have one more death in the family."

The victims in the car were identified by authorities as 15-year-old driver Nicki Mann; Elizabeth Mann, 15; Johnny Mann, 13; Heaven Mann, 3; Ashley Kenn, 13; Miranda Finn, who was either 8- or 9-years-old; and Anthony Lamb, who was almost 2 years old.

Five of the students onboard the bus were taken to University of Florida's Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Three were in serious condition and two were in fair condition, hospital officials said Wednesday night.

The other four were taken to area hospitals. It was believed that they were treated and released, said Lt. Mike Burroughs of the Florida Highway Patrol.

"It was horrible. People were screaming, children were wandering around, two were laying (in) the middle of the road," said Joy Clemins, who lives near the crash site. "It is like they were walking around in a dream."

The bus driver, Lillie Mae Perry, was transferred to a Gainesville hospital where she was in stable condition, hospital officials said.

Grief counselors were scheduled to be on hand Thursday to help students deal with the tragedy, said Union County School Superintendent Carlton Faulk. Lake Butler is about 60 miles southwest of Jacksonville in rural northern Florida.

"In a small county you get to know the kids," he said. "A lot of the administrators and myself actually taught the parents of some of these kids. It's a very close knit community."

Alvin Wilkerson, 31, the truck driver, suffered minor injuries. Burroughs said charges against Wilkerson were pending an investigation.

"We want to know why he didn't see a big, large school bus," Burroughs said.

He said authorities were looking into whether Wilkerson was possibly talking on his cell phone, if he was tired or if there was a mechanical failure of the truck.

Burroughs said a sample of Wilkerson's blood-alcohol level has also been collected.


===============================================

I can't imagine the level of guilt this truck driver will feel for the rest of his life. This is fucking horrible.

oh my god that is awful.

Fuck

I just read another article on that saying upon hearing the news their grandfather died of a massive heart attack.

I bet that truck driver is gonna feel pretty bad.

What the fuck was he doing? no skid marks, he had to have fallen asleep.

What the fuck, what was the guy doing, how do you just drive into....

It's these types of things that really make me doubt there's a God.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/26/bus.crash/index.html

Horrible.

dang

And some people on this board still advocate drink driving. I know theres nothing that states this was caused by drink driving, but this is the sort of thing that can happen

My heart goes out to that poor family and their loss.

Well, this shows what can happen when driving period. This can happen with someone who is tired, playing with a radio, playing with a cell pone, or someone who is "drink driving". For all we know the driver was having a heart attack or something. Something happening in those circumstance sis just them hitting the "unlucky lottery".

C'mon, I'm certainly not pro-drunk driving but trying to use a completely unrelated news story to support your anti-drunk driving stance is pretty silly, don't you think?

i agree, furthering ones own agenda through a the use of a tragic event,

I read the other day (I cant find the link) that the person driving the car they were in was only 15. So I wouldnt rule out a driver mistake on their part either.

They were stopped behind a school bus. I'm no driving teacher, but I believe you're supposed to stop when the vehicle in front of you does. The investigators said that her age had nothing to do with the crash.

That's kind of stupid reasoning. There would've been no deaths in the family if the underage girl didn't break the law, and left the car at home

how can a family that blatently allows illegel driving of their children be allowed to adopt so many kids?

I'm not sure that was one of the make or break items for the adoption process, unless underage driving is running rampant down in Florida.

NTSB: Driver in deadly crash awake 34 hours
Bottled-water truck slammed into car at Florida bus stop, killing 7 children

Updated: 8:24 p.m. ET Feb. 3, 2006
LAKE BUTLER, Fla. - A truck driver who plowed into a car at a school bus stop last week, killing seven children, had been awake for 34 hours, except for a short nap, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

Alvin Wilkerson, 31, was driving a load of bottled water from High Springs to Jacksonville, a distance of 85 miles, when he crashed into the other vehicle.

David Rayburn, the NTSB’s lead investigator in the crash, said fatigue was one of many factors being reviewed.

“He was driving quite a bit during those 34 hours,” Rayburn said, adding that Wilkerson was making deliveries and loading and unloading his truck.

Wilkerson, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, has refused to speak with investigators. Rayburn and the Florida Highway Patrol would not release the name of his attorney.

Blood tests showed he had not been using alcohol or drugs and was not using his cell phone at the time of the accident, investigators said. They still do not know if a dog riding in Wilkerson’s truck played any part in the collision.

Wilkerson’s employer, Crete Carrier Corp. of Lincoln, Neb., issued a statement Friday saying the NTSB’s statements were preliminary. “Like the NTSB, our desire is to determine the cause of the accident,” said Jack Peetz, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The NTSB, using an identical school bus and truck, determined the school bus should have been visible for more than half a mile. The truck left some light skid marks before hitting the car and pushing it into the school bus.

The car burst into flames, killing all seven children, and forcing it under the school bus, which had nine children aboard. Two children from the bus remained hospitalized Friday in Gainesville.