A Georgia high school football team’s bus flipped on its side on the ride home from a road game after troopers say the driver lost control on a turn, and 25 people went to hospitals.
Story Highlights
- The Salem High School football bus overturned near Interstate 20 in Conyers, Georgia, around 10:45 p.m. on Friday, October 23.
- Rockdale County Public Schools says 22 students and three staff members went to hospitals, and one student was airlifted.
- No one was killed, and as of Sunday afternoon, October 25, all but one student had been released.
- Georgia State Patrol says the 74-year-old driver lost control while turning onto State Route 138; troopers have not said why.
- One 14-year-old player said most riders climbed out through the emergency hatch in the roof, and that for a moment he feared some of his teammates and coaches were dead.
Bus Overturns Returning From Friday Night Game
The team was heading home from an away game against Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross. Georgia State Patrol says the driver was turning right from an eastbound I-20 exit onto State Route 138, also called Highway 138, when he lost control. The bus crossed the southbound and northbound lanes, collided with a Kia Soul driven by a 35-year-old man, and rolled onto its side off the road. Troopers identified the driver as 74-year-old Walter Hackett. No charges have been filed.
The bus was one of three carrying the football team, cheerleaders and coaches that night. One 14-year-old player told reporters the bus was moving fast and did not seem to slow down at the exit. He said most riders climbed out through the emergency hatch in the roof, and that for a moment he feared some of his teammates and coaches were dead.
Twenty-Five Taken To Hospitals, One Airlifted
Police said 27 people were on board: 17 players, seven athletic trainers, two coaches and the driver. The district said 22 students and three adults were taken to hospitals, including Grady Memorial, Piedmont Rockdale and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Some rode in ambulances, some went with their parents, and one student was flown out by helicopter. Superintendent Stephanie Johnson said, “We are deeply grateful that there were no fatalities and that many have been treated and released.”
By Sunday afternoon, everyone had gone home except one student, who was wearing a neck brace, according to reports. The airlifted student was among those released. The player who spoke to reporters described the injuries as mostly cuts, bruises and road rash, with some stitches. The district has held back names and medical details to protect student privacy, and it planned extra counselors at the school on Monday, October 26.
State Patrol Investigates Driver’s Loss of Control
Georgia State Patrol says the driver lost control on the turn, but troopers have not released a cause. The patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, the unit that enforces safety rules for buses and large trucks, is inspecting the bus. As of Sunday, troopers said they had no updates on what led to the crash.
School Bus Safety Record Nationwide
As frightening as the scene was, federal data shows school buses remain one of the safest ways for kids to travel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that tracks road deaths, counted 962 fatal school-transportation crashes and 1,069 deaths nationwide from 2015 through 2024. That is an average of 107 deaths a year, and most of the people killed were riding in other vehicles, not the bus. Georgia state troopers regularly remind drivers to slow down and stay alert around school buses.
Parents trust school districts to get their kids to and from games safely. Rockdale County families deserve a full accounting of the driver, the bus and the turn once the Georgia State Patrol closes its case, beyond the relief that no one died.
Sources:
atlantanewsfirst.com, wsbtv.com, wsbtv.com, patch.com, 11alive.com, nhtsa.gov