http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/breaking-multiple-fatalities-confirmed-near-garner-state-park

CONCAN, Texas (SBG San Antonio) —

Uvalde County officials confirm multiple people died in a head-on collision near Garner State Park on Wednesday afternoon.

The accident happened around 2 p.m. off Highway 83 North.
Emily Baucum was live near the scene of the accident:


First Baptist in New Braunfels released two statements after the accident, stating a bus carrying senior adults back from a retreat was involved in a head-on collision.

The Alto Frio Baptist Camp and Conference Center confirmed via phone Wednesday that a senior group had been at the camp since Monday.

The church announced all activities had been canceled in response to the accident.

Rick Ballesteros of Uvalde came upon the scene of the accident and said the bus and a pick-up truck were involved in the head-on crash. He said there were possibly seven fatalities.

"It was a really gruesome scene," said Ballesteros during a phone interview.

Uvalde County Fire Marshals said DPS and EMS units, as well as Airlife, were on the scene.

A representative from Airlife said two people were transported to University Hospital.

A lieutenant with the TxDPS said there were several fatalities but could not confirm how many.

The Uvalde County Sheriff's Office said Highway 83 North is closed south of Garner State Park and traffic will be rerouted through CR 350 and FM 1050. The highway will be closed for several hours.

Garner State Park is almost 88 miles west of San Antonio.

Check back for more information on this developing story.

Prayers on the way

Damn.

12 dead, 3 injured.

Damn.

Damn!! How terrible!

We had some old folks from retirement home here in Bastrop get killed when their tour bus high centered on RR tracks in Biloxi severy weeks ago!

Hate seeing this, again!!

Lotta hills and curves thru there.

Yes there is. Just on that road 3 weeks ago, four times.

Even through curves (maybe especially through curves) - you got to keep your mind (and your vehicle) in YOUR lane!

My hometown.

Growing up my good friend and neighbors dad was the minister at First Baptist Church. Our dads took us fishing and hunting together. I guarantee I know some of the people who lost their lives but I haven't heard any names yet. Just tragic. Wish I was still living in NB right now so I could comfort my friends

Terrible news. Prayers headed that way.

This^^^. Amen

13 dead from the wreck now.

DPS is saying that the driver of the dually crossed the centerline.

NTSB is investigating now as well... Probably because of the type vehicle the church had, and the number of fatalities. 13 out of 14 passengers killed.

I suppose no seatbelts in a vehicle like that... I know that the old, extended 15 passenger vans had many, many lawsuits due to the number of fatalities when involved in an accident.

Seems like they're keeping the identity of the truck driver rather quiet.

Wonder what will happen if they find out the driver was an illegal?

I thought that yesterday... Drunk wetback?

We'll see.

My first thought too.

Wow. Bad! I feel for the families!!

Very bad deal.

Between this and the La Vernia scandal, the San Antonio area hasn't been having a very good week.

There were a couple deaths in NB yesterday aside from the bus crash that really had an impact on the community. One was a young man that lost his battle with cancer.

Tragic day in NB

This is about as bad as it gets. Just horrific and enough to make a grown man weep. The pain and suffering throughout the community is unimaginable.

God be with those involved and their extended families.

A 20 year old local boy, for his sake I hope he weren't on his phone, he's gonna have it tough enough for the rest of his life as it is. Tragic deal all around

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...rner-state-park-11038781.php?ipid=brkbar

I don't think it will matter why he did it, but what I've read he suddenly swerved into the path of the bus. He should do time. Maybe lots.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/3...-pickup-before-collision-police-say.html

A witness at the crash scene reported that the guy said he was texting.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...-was-texting-11041354.php?ipid=artrecirc

Damn

That's a dangerous stretch of road IMO. People tend not to slow down for that big long curve in front of the park.




Dave

A few people called in reports of the truck driving erratically before the wreck.

Before law enforcement could get there, the wreck happened.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/n...re-church-bus-accident-that-left-13-dead

One big question now is the danger of vehicles like the church mini-bus.

The dodge dually incurred the same impact, but the lone occupant was not in critical condition after the wreck.... In contrast to 13 of the 14 occupants of the church bus being killed. 12 instantly.

Kinda bears looking into.

I'd guess that none of the bus passengers were wearing seat belts. The rear half doesn't look all that bad so they were likely tossed.

plus they we're in their 60s-80s

Yes, they were older, but take a look at the back of the bus. There's very little damage. I'm betting that the bodies were all in a pile right behind the driver. Many of these buses don't have seat belts and usually they aren't used if they do. People just have the attitude that if I'm in a bus I'm safe. It's true, though, that younger people can survive flying impacts better than seniors.

Guy was all over the road...video captured from driver behind the truck (and who called into report the erratic driving).

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...h-bus-crash-11042124.php?impid=brkrecirc

Maybe in a text fight with his girlfriend, the most likely thing to get a 20yo all wound up and distracted.

Truck driver was texting. Of course some would cut him some slack, he's just a kid. Right Birdy...

A 20-something was texting when he plowed into our (paid for) Accord that was parked on the curb.

I met him halfway to my front door and said "on your phone huh?" It caught him off guard before he could come up with some BS.

Happens every day but it's usually a one-on-one.

This ended up a zero-14 so we can count on some legislation, I'm sure.

The preacher is impressive. For a 12 year old.

Do you ever read a frigging article posted?

"She said it appeared that most, if not all, of the bus passengers were belted in their seats at the time of the crash. The bus had been converted from a 2004 Ford Econoline van, which she called quite common, and was equipped with seat belts."

I'd charge him with whatever fits, starting with thirteen counts of negligent homicide or however it is described in this state.

Then I'd leave it to a judge and jury to decide, and they can take into account any priors or lack thereof.

Near as I can tell a tragedy all around: Thirteen dead and a young man's life ruined beyond comprehension.

His driving? 80-85 in light traffic ain't unusual in Texas, pretty sure I've hit triple digits more'n a few times on motorcycles somewhere on that very road, sure as heck have on the Vanderpool Mountain Road right by there. I didn't own a car until I was past 40, my first ten years here I rode that area at least half a dozen times a year.

The weaving? if he weren't drunk or under the influence that's a guy seriously preoccupied. That preoccupation killed 13 people, and might as well have killed him too.

Birdwatcher

He deserves everything he has coming to him and then some...

This ^^^^^ No slack needed. Until people start receiving serious consequences for texting and driving, it will just get worse. When I was working starting up a project in Ontario Canada 7 or 8 years ago, they had a $500 fine for first offense talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. I think second offense was $1,000. I would be supportive of the same here in the U.S. ...

I'd be supportive of more than that. The past few years have been my bicycle period; most days 10-20 miles on a bicycle, along the side of the road. Prob'ly stay that way for a while and I ain't anxious to get run over.

Yeah, very sad.

A later report said that they didn't know if the bus even had seat belts, let alone whether they were using them.

Wish every state had a law that" you got a cell in your hand" automatic 1000$ fine first time, next lose license!!!!!!!!Fugg em they are worse than drunks!!!!!

The NTSB reported most all, if not all, were wearing their seat belts.

Folks run around wetting their pants about some pretty far fetched schit but think nothing of getting behind the wheel.

Sad deal. Condolences to the families.

15 passenger vans have been death traps since they came out with them.

Given the number of lawsuits, I'm surprised they are still even being offered for sale.

So it's the vans fault?

Did you guys see the video the guy driving behind him shot? It was on the news. The caller was begging the cops to get him off the road, said he was gonna kill someone, and was all over the road. And he was. Multiple times, all the way across the line, all the way over in the oncoming lane, before the wreck.

It's one thing to momentarily lose your focus and wander in your lane but this guy just didn't give a flying f***.

Around here so many people are texting while they drive you'd think it was a requirement.

Did I say that?

There's two factors in this wreck.

The first is the culpability of what caused the wreck. That's obviously the idiot driving the dually.

The second is the history of 15 passenger vans as being unsafe.

Truckers shouldn't be allowed to have a cell phone in the cab.
I see them constantly weaving their big rig all over I-25.
Having one in the cabin with the motor running should be an automatic suspension of their CDL.

http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/...advisory-about-dangers-15-passenger-vans

Agreed!

This isn't the type of van that's caused that problem. The bad ones are the regular vans like the one in this photo with the extension to add another row of seats. The added weight and length messes up the balance and makes them unstable. They weren't engineered for the extension.
This church bus was designed as a real bus.

Those conversion vans start with a base factory van. Same physics involved.

The accident and subsequent fatalities were entirely the fault of the young man texting and drive on a winding Hill Country road. He wasn't just momentarily distracted. He had been doing it for miles, swerving all over the road and sufficiently alarming two other vehicles on the highway that they called for law enforcement assistance.

He may very well otherwise be a good kid, but he was a stupid and criminally negligent driver.

The bus driver took evasive action, but because of the guard rail, he ran out of room. The bus did not fail. The young man in the truck failed to control his vehicle-- and he killed 13 people.

I agree totally that the driver of the truck caused the accident. His fault.

I do not agree that the bus didn't fail though.

Here's why.

The Dodge dually and the bus had the exact head-on impact in the wreck. That's a fact.

But the driver wasn't injured that badly.

On the other hand, 13 of the 14 passengers in the bus were killed.

Federal law even prohibits the use of those type vehicles for school age children.

Now, you get a phone call that tells you a family member is going to be involved in a head on accident in one hour. You can choose which vehicle she rides in. Would you choose the church van, or the pickup?

I'm not trying to be totally argumentative here, but to say the "bus didn't fail" is a pretty qualified expert legal opinion.

Where would a lawyer go on behalf of the ones killed in the accident? My guess is they will sue the pickup driver to the extent of his liability. (which ain't much in a wreck like this)... AND he will sue the manufacturer/conversion company that built the church van.

Well, we'll just have to disagree on this one--it's not the first time.

We're really not disagreeing on who is at fault in this wreck. That's totally at the feet of the guy that hit the van.

I'm just saying there may be some issues with the safety of the van.

Remember the Ford Pintos that would explode when rear ended because the gas tank ruptured? Many were burned alive?

Of course the driver that rear ended the Pinto is at fault for the accident. But Ford was on the hook for a liability issue too.

I damn sure wasn't taking the pickup driver's side in this, at all, whatsoever.

After watching the video, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't texting at all, but was just drunk on his ass. It doesn't make sense that texting would cause him to drive that way for a few miles, and someone who's texting and causes a wreck doesn't blurt out "I was texting" as the first thing out of his mouth.

On the other hand, if he was drunk, he might say that.

The kid that hit them is 20 years old. The youngest passenger in the bus was over 60 and a few of the passengers were over 80. They are much more susceptible to significant internal injuries

STFU about the bus having any impact on this whatsoever!

Yeah, I'll let you tell me what to STFU about....

Not!

But you win.

Ford Econoline van issues played no part in anything.

Minibus rollover issue wasn't the cause of the wreck, texting driver negligence was. Why the focus on minibus/van rollover issues?Why the diversion off the real cause of the accident and loss of life?

I guess I should have kept my mouth shut.

I thought I was clear about where I blamed the cause of the accident.

Just looking at the picture of the wreck it doesn't appear to be much damage to the van that was hit. At least not what you'd expect from a fatality of that number.

Absolutely NO diversion on who was responsible was placed by me.

I only question the safety of a van in which 13 people die, when the other vehicle didn't produce a fatality.

RB-

The fact the fatality count is 13-0 isn't surprising when you consider the fact the 20yo truck driver was the sole occupant and protected by an airbag.

The van full of seniors were not.

Was the truck driver in a safer position? Of course. That doesn't mean the van was unsafe.

Regardless, I'm sure there is a pile of lawyers waiting to talk to the families of the deceased.

Horrible situation for those folks families.

All fatalities were those in their eighties, only van survivor was in early sixties. Research that. Truck survivor was 20.

OK.

Okay, 8 were in their 80s, sad deal, and most probably still be alive if not for the idiot young man.

I agree.

I really can't offer a solution for drivers who text while on the road. We had a college girl killed near here a couple years ago when she was going up a steep hill on the freeway doing about 75 and ran into the back of a slow moving truck. One of her last texts to a friend was "I need to stop doing this. It's dangerous".

Yep, I agree, you should have just STFU. You're an idiot. You've placed 50% of the blame on a van that literally did nothing wrong. You hit most vehicles head on in a 1 ton dually diesel and people are going to die




They were wearing seat belts so you "supposed" wrong.....



No, it doesn't, it's obvious what caused the death of 13 innocent people and it was a 20 year old kid driving a huge 1 ton dually texting on his cell phome



WTF?



There's 1 f**king factor in this wreck. Period. To break this down into two factors and one of them being the type of bus owned by the church is a damn joke.

I have a number of friends directly impacted by this accident. Seriously, STFU

https://www.facebook.com/SAExpressNews/videos/1402817739768447/