A bus carrying a youth football team crashed in Arkansas early Monday, Dec. 3, leaving one child dead and 45 people injured.
The exact location was at the 111-mile marker, at an exit ramp. The bus appeared to leave the road as it was exiting on the curved ramp.
In addition to the death and injuries, the crash left three to five children trapped.
The patients who were taken to Baptist and St. Vincent had been released hours after the crash after being treated.
A helicopter brought in investigators with the state police to provide a better view of the crash before landing.
Chaka Dunlap-Williams, who posted the picture, said that two of her nephews rode on the bus to Texas but were not on the bus on the way back.
“My sister made them ride in the car with her back home,” she said.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued a statement following the crash.
“On behalf of all Memphians, our hearts and prayers go out to the Orange Mound children and their families involved in this morning’s tragic bus accident in Arkansas,” he said.
Fatal Crashes
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, analyzing data from the Department of Transportation, there were 37,461 deaths from car accidents in 2016, the last year full data is available for.The deaths occurred across 34,439 fatal motor vehicle accidents.
The number means 11.6 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.16 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, although those numbers can vary widely across states. In Arkansas, the deaths per 100,000 population (18.2) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (1.51) are both in the upper edge of the states’ death rates.
The majority of fatal accidents are single-vehicle crashes, the institute noted.