COTTONWOOD, Minn. – Four students died as a result of school bus crash that occurred Feb. 19.
According to State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson, the bus was hit by a van at approximately 3:25 p.m., while on its regular route carrying students from Lakeview School. The bus then hit a pickup truck and tipped on its side with at least 14 people getting injured.
The bus carried 28 students who ranged in class level from kindergarten to high school senior and the driver, despite previous reports citing that the bus held 40, said Christine Krueger, spokeswoman for Minnesota Public Safety.
After witnessing the crashes, several motorists rushed some of the passengers to nearby hospitals.
Authorities said two of the 11 victims taken to Avera Regional Hospital were in critical condition, while one had been released. The remaining wounded students were being treated for neck and back injuries, lacerations, bruises and bumps.
Two other victims were taken to Granite Falls Hospital, 15 miles north of the incident. The students, 11 and 14, did not have life-threatening injuries; however, they suffered fractures that required high level care. They were then sent to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., one by ambulance and the other by helicopter, to undergo orthopedic surgery.
The four students who did not survive the crash were brothers Jesse Javens, 13, and Hunter Javens, 9; 12-year-old Reed Stevens; and 9-year-old Emilee Olson.
Classes at Lakeview School, which serves roughly 585 students, grades K-12, were cancelled Feb. 20, and scheduled to resume Feb. 21. A school official said grief counselors and clergy were available to students.
