2 killed when vehicle slams into turning school bus in Highway 50

Two men were killed in an accident between a minivan and a school bus on Highway 50 near Warrensburg, Missouri, Tuesday. The Missouri Highway Patrol says that the school bus was loaded with 50 students from Centerview, Missouri. A dozen of the students required a trip to hospitals after the highway accident. Officials report that all of the injuries suffered by students aboard the bus appear to be minor.

Officials say that the bus driver was attempting to make a right turn from Route 50 while traveling east. A minivan or sport utility vehicle slammed into the rear of the bus. One student who is a high school sophomore told KHSB News that shards of glass were sprayed in the school bus—she could feel the glass hitting her. But, she notes that she could see the vehicle that struck the bus. The vehicle had caught fire.

The bus driver evacuated the bus, due to the danger of fire when the passenger vehicle burst into flames.

Two men, a 34-year-old Knob Noster resident and a 20-year-old Leeton, Missouri, resident who had been traveling in the passenger vehicle did not survive the crash and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Law enforcement continues to investigate the fatal accident. Authorities say that the bus driver was using the turn signal when the passenger vehicle crashed into the back of the bus.

It is not clear how fast the trailing vehicle was traveling before impact. Sources say that the minivan ran underneath the school bus, being wedged underneath the larger vehicle. The Missouri Highway Patrol says that investigators do not know what factored in to the cause of the accident.

Highway accidents may often involve high speeds and can happen in the blink of an eye. While it is not known what kind of speed was involved in the recent Highway 50 wreck, reconstructing and piecing together the events can be an arduous process. Even when witnesses see a crash, the complete picture of what happened can change as an investigation develops. Discovering what occurred is an important process for safety officials, victims of a wreck and the families of traffic accident victims.

Source: KSHB 41 Action News, “Two dead in accident involving school bus carrying 50 students near Warrensburg,” Garrett Haake, Oct. 15, 2013