Sunday, July 28, 2013

Three dead as bus load of children heading home from church camp overturns on Indianapolis highway

  • Most of the 37 passengers were teenagers and several critical injuries have been reported
  • Among the dead are a husband and wife
  • 12 ambulances were needed to transport the injured church members from the scene
  • A teenager is believed dead

By Daily Mail Reporter

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Three people were killed when a bus carrying mostly teens from a church camp overturned on a busy Indianapolis highway after the bus attempted a turn 'at high speeds' Saturday afternoon.

Twenty-six injuries, several of them critical, are reported and most of the victims are believed to be teenagers, five of whom remained pinned inside the bus as rescuers raced to the scene.

Among the dead are a husband and wife. Twelve ambulances were required to transport the injured from among the bus's 37 passengers, all of them members of Indianapolis's Colonial Hills Baptist Church who'd nearly made it home when tragedy struck.

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Tragic: Twelve ambulances were needed to carry the critically injured churchgoers to hospitals after the bus taking them home from camp overturned on an Indiana highway Saturday

Tragic: Twelve ambulances were needed to carry the critically injured churchgoers to hospitals after the bus taking them home from camp overturned on an Indiana highway Saturday

Almost home: The church was nearly home from a church youth trip to Michigan's Camp CoBeAc when it overturned in Indianapolis. Rescuers are pictured here extricating trapped victims. Twenty-six are injured and three dead

Almost home: The church was nearly home from a church youth trip to Michigan's Camp CoBeAc when it overturned in Indianapolis. Rescuers are pictured here extricating trapped victims. Twenty-six are injured and three dead

Deadly: Three are dead in an Indianapolis bus crash after the vehicle attempted a turn 'at high speeds' on a busy stretch of highway Saturday afternoon

Deadly: Three are dead in an Indianapolis bus crash after the vehicle attempted a turn 'at high speeds' on a busy stretch of highway Saturday afternoon

This, according the to the Indianapolis Star, which reports that the third fatality is a teenager.

Indianapolis Fire Department spokesman Lt. Rita Burris confirms the deaths and says survivors were taken to area hospitals.

Medical helicopters also arrived at the scene to transport the most seriously injured.

The church's youth pastor had sent a tweet a couple of hours before the crash saying the group was expected to arrive at the church about 4:15 p.m., around the time the accident happened.

'They were not that far from home. That only adds to the tragedy,' said Indianapolis Public Safety Director Troy Riggs.

Nine teenagers were taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital, including one in critical condition. Three of those were treated and released, hospital spokeswoman Sally Winter said. She said 10 others, including nine teenagers and a toddler, were taken to Riley Hospital for Children. Seven of those teenagers were treated and released, Winter said.

Many of the patients were suffering head, arm and leg injuries, fire officials said.

Witnesses described the scene as mass chaos as drivers immediately swarmed the accident, where victims littered the highway.

Witness Carol Albright seemed surprised there wasn't even further carnage.

'It kind of pivoted on the nose of the bus and did a little bit of a twist,' Albright told the Star. 'How it didn't hit another car, I don't know.'

Another witness tried to treat what victims she could.

?Everybody had boils and scrapes on them,? Sasha Sample, who works as a nurse, told the Star. ?People were trying to climb from under the bus.?

Sample said she came upon the driver first.

Shocking: Seats and bags were strewn about the highway after the deadly crash the killed 3 and left 26 injured, some of them critically

Shocking: Seats and bags were strewn about the highway after the deadly crash the killed 3 and left 26 injured, some of them critically

Overturned: A traffic camera shows the aftermath of the crash that killed three, At least five of the 40 church campers were pinned inside as 12 ambulances swarmed at the scene Saturday

Overturned: A traffic camera shows the aftermath of the crash that killed three, At least five of the 40 church campers were pinned inside as 12 ambulances swarmed at the scene Saturday

Sad end: The group had nearly made it back home to Indianapolis after a church youth group trip to Camp CoBeAc in Houghton Lake, Michigan

Sad end: The group had nearly made it back home to Indianapolis after a church youth group trip to Camp CoBeAc in Houghton Lake, Michigan

So close: The group members all came from Colonial Hills Baptist Church. They'd nearly made it there when tragedy struck after a road trip home from Michigan

So close: The group members all came from Colonial Hills Baptist Church. They'd nearly made it there when tragedy struck after a road trip home from Michigan

?He was badly bleeding from the arm and I borrowed someone's belt and made a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.?

She then came upon a dead man.

?I couldn't do anything for him,? Sample said. ?So you triage. You help those you can.?

The Indianapolis Fire Department official Twitter account tweeted about the incident around 6pm Saturday, asking that people 'please pray for all involved.'

Duane Lloyd told the WTHR that he heard a loud noise behind him as he was traveling near the intersection and saw the crash.

'I heard a skid. I looked back. I see this bus in the air and people falling out of the bus,' Lloyd said. 'I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.'

Trapped: Firefighters work to extricate people from the crash Saturday in Indianapolis. At least 5 were pinned inside. Three are confirmed dead. The bus appears to have jumped the median of Interstate 465

Trapped: Firefighters work to extricate people from the crash Saturday in Indianapolis. At least 5 were pinned inside. Three are confirmed dead. The bus appears to have jumped the median of Interstate 465

High traffic: An aerial shot shows that accident and the surrounding busy I-465

High traffic: An aerial shot shows that accident and the surrounding busy I-465

Shut down: The bus leaked a large amount of diesel fuel, which required a hazmat team to clean up. Most of the traffic on I-465 remained closed after the accident

Shut down: The bus leaked a large amount of diesel fuel, which required a hazmat team to clean up. Most of the traffic on I-465 remained closed after the accident

At fault? The bus, carrying 40, struck a retaining wall as it took a turn 'at high speeds.' The driver claims his brakes failed

At fault? The bus, carrying 40, struck a retaining wall as it took a turn 'at high speeds.' The driver claims his brakes failed

Major toll: The injury toll climbed as over two dozen injured members of the Colonial Hills Baptist Church were taken to the hospital, some via helicopter

Major toll: The injury toll climbed as over two dozen injured members of the Colonial Hills Baptist Church were taken to the hospital, some via helicopter

An employee of Camp CoBeAc confirmed to MailOnline that the group was nearly home from a youth group trip to the Houghton Lake, Michigan camp when the crash occurred.

An Indiana Department of Transportation camera showed the bus overturned on its side near an Interstate 465 overpass.

Family members and loved one of the victims were directed to gather at a nearby church.

The crash caused a large and hazardous diesel fuel spill, which a hazardous materials team arrived to clean up as traffic ground.

Roads near the scene were closed, and authorities were urging people to use caution in the area.

Parents of passengers were asked to go to the church for information.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380183/Three-dead-bus-load-children-heading-home-church-camp-overturns-Indianapolis-highway.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

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