Two School Buses, Pickup and Semi Collide
in Missouri August 5, 2010

Two people are dead and about 50 are injured after a multi-vehicle crash involving two buses carrying high school students, a pickup truck and a tractor trailer. The collision occurred at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, as all vehicles traveled eastbound on Interstate 44 in Missouri, about 30 miles from St. Louis.

The buses were carrying John F. Hodge High School band members en route to Six Flags theme park. According to Missouri Highway Patrol, one of the deceased has been confirmed as a high school girl and the second has been confirmed as the driver of the pickup.

The pile-up seems to have been sparked by a Climate Express tractor trailer slowing because of construction related traffic. The pickup rear-ended the tractor trailer. The first bus then slammed into the back of the pickup before being rear-ended by the second bus. Pictures of the wreckage show the first bus crushing the pickup.

Officials have said that about 50 people were injured in the collision, including numerous students, one of which was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital. The driver of the Climate Express tractor trailer was also injured in the crash.

Climate Express, a trucking company based in Washington, Mo., has a fleet of more than 120 tractors and 280 trailers. An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fatal collision, which officials say could take weeks to determine.

STLToday.com: Bus drivers identified in I-44 bus crash

Return to Transportation Accidents Press Releases