Three people were killed and as many as 19 children were injured after two school buses apparently collided in Knox County, Tennessee.
The buses are believed to serve an elementary and middle school, a CBS affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee reported.
Three are dead in a double school bus crash in Tennessee, @wvlt reports: http://t.co/pJdGT1WsyJ pic.twitter.com/8iloOBeF9p
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 2, 2014
A local children’s hospital is treating 19 patients from the crash, none of whom have life-threatening injuries, according to local media. As of 4.40pm ET, it was unclear whether the deceased were children or adults.
It’s unclear whether the National Transportation Safety Board might investigate the crash.
“We are actively monitoring the situation, talking to officials on the ground, and trying to figure out what, if any, action we would take,” said Eric Weiss, a spokesperson for the NTSB.
Less than 1% of fatal car accidents in the US involve school buses, according to the Department of Transportation. Most deaths involving buses were of passengers of other vehicles or of pedestrians. Of the fatal accidents school buses were involved in between 2003 and 2012, just 8% involved school bus passengers, a total of 106 deaths over nine years.
