BIG SPRING, Texas – Three adults, including a high school band director, were killed in a wrong-way crash on a West Texas highway involving a pickup truck and a bus carrying high school band members, according to officials.
The crash happened late Friday when the pickup truck was heading the wrong way on the highway. The bus, from Andrews High School in Andrew, located near the New Mexico border, was going to a football game with 25 students aboard when it was hit head-on by the truck, according to the Associated Press.
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The truck burst into flames from the impact, killing the driver, said DPS Sgt. Justin Baker. One other person was pronounced deceased at the scene.
According to KWTX-TV, Nathan Paul Haile, 59, was the driver of the pickup truck. The bus driver, Mark Elbert Boswell, 69, and Darin Kimbrogh Johns, 53, the school’s band director, also died from their injuries.
Two other high school students are in critical but stable condition, per AP. Several other students that were injured were taken to the Scenic Mountain Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, Sgt. Baker said.
As of Saturday, KWTX-TV reported the students with minor injuries have been released and reunited with their families.
Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement on the crash late Friday. It can be read in full below:
“Our hearts go out to those who were injured or lost their lives in the bus crash in Big Spring, and we grieve for the families of those taken too soon. The Texas Department of Public Safety is working closely with local officials to investigate this accident, and the State of Texas is ready to provide any additional resources and support needed to Andrews ISD, Big Spring, and those affected by this tragedy. I thank the first responders who rushed to the scene to help those involved in the crash, and I ask Texans to join me and Cecilia in prayer for those involved in this horrific accident.”
The football playoff game between Andrews and Springtown in Sweetwater is postponed until further notice.
More on KSAT:
3 killed, none of them students, in school band bus crash in West Texas