Texas church bus crash: 13 killed, 2 injured in collision with pickup truck

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Head-on collision leads to multiple fatalities and injuries

Bus collides with pickup truck leaving 12 dead, 3 injured

At least 13 people were killed and two others injured in a head-on crash Wednesday between a church bus and pickup truck in southwest Texas, officials said.

All of the victims who died were senior adults who attended First Baptist Church of New Braunfels, Texas, including the driver.

A total of 14 senior adults were on the bus and the driver was the only person in the pickup when the vehicles collided about 12:30 p.m. on U.S. 83 outside Garner State Park in northern Uvalde County, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Conrad Hein and a church statement.

The area is about 75 miles west of San Antonio.

Hein said two other bus passengers and the pickup driver were injured and hospitalized. One of those passengers died at a San Antonio hospital late Wednesday, DPS Lt. Johnny Hernandez said. The lone surviving passenger was hospitalized in critical condition, while the truck driver was hospitalized in stable condition, he said.

Photographs and video from the scene showed heavy damage to the front drivers' sides of the small white bus and pickup truck, which are the portions of the vehicles where they appear to have collided.

The back of the bus was up on a guardrail and debris was scattered onto the grass below.

An area resident told the Uvalde Leader-News she was behind one of the vehicles involved in the crash, and had contacted law enforcement to report reckless driving. Before help arrived, she had the crash took place.

The First Baptist New Braunfels church asked for those to "please be in prayer for all involved" in a series of statements on its Facebook page.

Pastor Brad McLean addressed members of the media Wednesday night as the congregation gathered at the church for prayer and support, KABB/WOAI-TV reported

"As a church, we're waiting for some official news from authorities before we can speak to anything," McLean said.

The church needs prayer more than anything else during this time, according to McLean, and members of the church gathered to do "what church families do."

"They're coming together, they're crying together, praying together and of course there's anxiousness as to who was on the bus and what their condition is," McLean said.

"You never know what the day is going to bring," he added. "The Lord tells us that we have today, tomorrow is not promised."

The Uvalde County Sheriff's Office said that Highway 83 North is closed South of Garner State Park, and will be closed for several hours.

The Uvalde County Fire Marshals told KABB/WOAI-TV DPS and EMS units, as well as Airlife, were on the scene.

A representative from Airlife said two people were transported to University Hospital.

"We are saddened by the loss of life and our hearts go out to all those affected," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. "We thank the first responders working on the scene in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy, and ask that all Texans join us in offering their thoughts and prayers.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet Wednesday night, "The NTSB is investigating today’s highway accident in Concan, Texas."

Hein said the small bus was a 2004 Turtle Top, though he did not know the specific model. Turtle Top's website features shuttle buses with capacities ranging from 17 to 51 passengers, which they bill as "a great alternative to the standard 15-passenger van."

Safety concerns have long surrounded the 15-passenger vans, also frequently used by churches and other groups, with advocates saying they can be difficult to control in an emergency.

Read more from FoxSanAntonio.com.

Read more from MySanAntonio.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.