Church bus flips in crash, sending 12 kids to hospital, Texas police say. ‘Chaotic’

Twelve children were hospitalized Sunday, Dec. 11, after a church bus flipped on its side, Texas cops say.

The bus was carrying 15 people — including 12 kids whose ages range from 1 to 16 — when it crashed outside an apartment complex Sunday afternoon in Harris County, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The 42-year-old driver of the bus was speeding around a curve, which caused the bus to roll on its side, the sheriff said.

“When our units arrived, they had to mobilize very quickly because children were kind of partially out the bus and on different places,” Gonzalez told KPRC. “So it was very chaotic, initially. They were able to stabilize the situation.”

Three children were pinned under the bus when first responders arrived, according to audio obtained by KTRK.

Fourteen of the 15 people on the bus were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff.

The driver was uninjured, Gonzalez said, and did not show any signs of being under the influence. The driver was taking the passengers from church service, KHOU reported.

Jared Zapata, the pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, said the volunteer driver is no longer allowed to drive for the church, according to KTRK.

The sheriff’s office said it is continuing to investigate the crash.

This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 10:43 AM with the headline "Church bus flips in crash, sending 12 kids to hospital, Texas police say. ‘Chaotic’."