7 killed, dozens injured in Mississippi bus crash

Among dead were siblings 6 and 16 years old

ByAmanda Musa, CNN CNNWire logo
Saturday, August 31, 2024
7 killed, dozens injured in Mississippi bus crash
Seven people were killed after a charter bus headed for Mexico went off the side of the road and crashed near Vicksburg, Mississippi.

WARREN COUNTY, Miss. -- Seven people were killed and dozens injured early Saturday when a commercial passenger bus headed for Mexico left a highway and overturned east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, officials said.

Among those killed in the crash on westbound Interstate 20 were siblings who were 6 and 16 years old, Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said. Thirty-seven passengers were transported to hospitals in Vicksburg and Jackson with unknown injuries, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said.

The 2018 Volvo bus overturned near Bovina, the highway patrol said.

"Anytime you have people injured or killed, it's tragic but when you have a situation like this where you have multiple fatalities and multiple injuries, it makes it even worse," Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace told CNN affiliate WAPT.

The bus belongs to Autobuses Regiomontanos, which transports passengers between Mexico and the United States, according to Miranda Fernandez, a company spokesperson. The company is based in Monterrey, Mexico, Fernandez said, and has several locations in the United States, according to a company website.

It's unclear in which city the bus originated, according to Fernandez, but it was on its way to Mexico.

"All of the passengers go through proper immigration checkpoints and must show their passports or visas to enter either Mexico or the United States," Fernandez told CNN.

"Several Mexican identification documents" were found on the bus, according to Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesperson Kervin Stewart.

Six passengers were pronounced dead at the scene while the seventh died at a hospital, according to the highway patrol.

The crash is under investigation, officials said. They did not indicate what may have happened.

Tow truck driver Keith Allison told WAPT the bus ended up in a ditch and many passengers were ejected.

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