School bus lands on side after crash with SUV, KY officials say. ‘I just went flying’

Thirty middle school students were on board a school bus that crashed and landed on its side, Kentucky officials say.

The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, in Paducah, where a Lone Oak Middle School bus was transporting students after school.

Police in Paducah say the 55-year-old bus driver reported looking both ways before turning left. But as he began turning, “he said the bus was hit in the rear portion of the left side by an SUV, causing the bus to spin and tip over onto its side.”

“I was just on the bus, just watching some TikTok when all of a sudden I just went flying into the air and I just completely froze,” seventh grade student Richard Rodriguez told WPSD. “I heard kids screaming and then we landed on the side of the bus, and I saw like glass shattered.”

Twelve students were transported to Paducah hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, according to a McCracken County Schools spokesperson. An additional seven students were taken by their parents to the hospital for precautionary reasons.

“No one was admitted to the hospital,” the district spokesperson said. “Some students were taken to the hospital to be evaluated and were not necessarily injured.”

The SUV involved in the crash was driven by a 17-year-old, authorities said, who could not be immediately interviewed “because of his injuries.” The teen was taken to a local hospital before he was flown to Nashville for further treatment.

McCracken County Schools said it is cooperating with Paducah police in its investigation.

The road was closed for nearly five hours as police cleared the scene.

Paducah is in Western Kentucky about 135 miles northwest of Nashville.

This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 11:38 AM with the headline "School bus lands on side after crash with SUV, KY officials say. ‘I just went flying’."