WARREN COUNTY, MS – A horrifying bus accident claimed the lives of seven passengers, including a 6-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, and injured 36 others in Mississippi. Reportedly, a bus traveling from Atlanta to Dallas crashed and overturned on Interstate 20 in Warren County.
Early on Saturday morning, at around 12:40 a.m., the Mississippi Highway Patrol was called in to respond to the incident. The bus, according to an official statement from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reportedly experienced a “tire failure” on the interstate leading to the crash. As per reports, no other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Officials from the Warren County Coroner’s office revealed that all seven victims, inclusive of the two young siblings, were of Guatemalan origin. The identity of the victims is being withheld until the next of kin has been notified.
The resulting injuries to the surviving 36 passengers have yet to be detailed. The injured passengers were all sent to local hospitals for treatment.
The bus that was involved in the incident has been identified as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger model owned by Regiomontanos Autobuses, based out of Laredo, Texas, with a branch in Atlanta. Federal records have led to the discovery of another fatal crash, two incidents resulting in personal injury, and one requiring a tow truck over the past 24 months.
Regiomontanos Autobuses, characterized as a for-hire transportation company, has a current federal carrier safety rating marked as “conditional.” Investigations into the incident are underway, with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division leading the probe in coordination with the NTSB.