A Church bus crashed head-on into a pickup on Wednesday and killed 12 people while injuring three others. The accident happened on US 83 outside Garner State Park located about 75 miles west of San Antonio around 12:30 p.m. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.
It was learned that the Church bus came from a 3-day encampment at the Alto Frio Baptist Camp and Conference Center in Leakey Texas. The trip was an annual spring retreat for church members above 55-years-old. The Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office stated that this unfortunate tragedy caused Highway 83 north to be closed near Garner State Park.
Images from the scene showed devastating damages to the front drivers' sides of the bus and Pickup Truck, this is where they have collided.
Church bus passengers
The bus belonged to the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels that carried a total of 14 passengers. Sadly, only two managed to survive the accident. The driver of the pickup truck also survived the crash.
One victim was transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center while two others were taken to University Hospital in San Antonio. The National Transportation Safety Board stated via a tweet that it will be investigating the accident in Concan, Texas.
The NTSB is investigating today’s highway accident in Concan, Texas.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) March 29, 2017
Prayers for the victims
The Church wrote on its website, “If you’re a Christian, you can pray for those who lost their loved ones and for the church family.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbot released a statement regarding the crash, “We are saddened by the loss of life, and our hearts go out to all those affected.
We thank the first responders working on the scene in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy,” USA Today has reported.
Bus possible safety issues
The bus that crashed was a 2004 Turtle Top but the specific model was not determined. From its website, Turtle Top offers shuttle buses with capacities that range from 17 to 51 passengers. However, the church members and other groups who frequently use the vans claim that they can be difficult to control in an emergency.
