CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn. — A field trip turned to tragedy Friday afternoon, March 27 when a Montgomery County school bus carrying 25 students and five adults collided with a TDOT dump truck on Highway 70, killing two students and sending others to hospitals across the region.
The students from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville were on their way to Jackson to attend the Toyota Hub City Grand Prix Greenpower USA race, a STEM program event scheduled at Rockabilly Stadium.
The crash occurred just before noon in the 10,000 block of Highway 70, roughly seven miles west of Huntingdon’s city limits and about 2.5 miles east of Cedar Grove, in one of the most devastating accidents in Carroll County’s recent memory.
Suzy Butler, whose daughter was aboard the bus, learned of the crash the way no parent ever should. She shared her experience with a news station in Nashville.
“I get a phone call from my daughter who was frantic and hysterical,” Butler said. “She said, ‘Mom, I’m okay,’ but then she said, ‘Mom, the other kids aren’t. The other kids aren’t.'”
Butler said her daughter, who had evacuated the bus, was helping injured classmates while Butler coached her to stay calm over FaceTime, not knowing whether any adults were nearby. The teachers and administrators on the trip had been seated near the front of the bus, the area most severely damaged in the crash.
“I’m so proud of her for helping her friends,” Butler said. “But right now I’m pacing my house just waiting to hug my baby again. It’s bittersweet because I’m comforted that she’s safe, but my heart is breaking for the other parents who are scared and hurting and wanting answers.”
Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Travis Plotzer, who led the press briefing Friday evening, spoke directly to the families of those killed.
“There are no adequate words we can use to ease your pain that you’re feeling right now,” Plotzer said. “This is a parent’s worst nightmare, and we recognize that.”
Authorities confirmed two students were pronounced dead at the scene. Of the 30 people aboard the bus, as well as the drivers of the dump truck and a Chevy Trailblazer that was involved, dozens required emergency medical care.
The response was massive. Baptist Ambulance Service deployed all four of its Carroll County units, plus an additional unit from Obion County.
Four units from Med Center EMS in Jackson and one from Henderson County EMS also responded. To ensure Carroll County maintained emergency coverage during the incident, additional units were repositioned across the county.
Andrew Ford, Director of Baptist Ambulance Service said nine air ambulance helicopters were requested to respond to the scene.
“Seven of those were used for patient transports to various hospitals,” he said, including Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Vanderbilt University Hospital, and the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.
To accommodate the volume of air traffic, Carroll County EMA Director Trevor Foster said authorities secured a restricted airspace of five miles around the scene at 2,500 feet.
Medical helicopters were exempt from the restriction and continued to move freely, but all other aircraft, including news helicopters, were kept out.
The demands on Carroll County’s emergency personnel did not end there.
As responders worked the crash scene, a separate house fire broke out on Spring Creek Road, requiring fire units to split their attention between the two incidents.
Highway 70 was shut down in both directions for hours.
Huntingdon Police and Fire closed the highway to westbound traffic at the intersection of Veterans Drive and West Main Street near Huck’s gas station. On the eastern end, TDOT and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office blocked eastbound traffic at Grigg’s Chapel Road.
Law enforcement and TDOT personnel were stationed at nearly every crossroad in between.
Families of those aboard the bus were directed to First Baptist Church, where Montgomery County school system representatives were on hand to help coordinate identification and communication with parents.
Officials said the investigation is still in its early stages. Four Baptist Ambulance units, multiple fire departments, rescue squads, and nine requested air ambulances responded to the scene.
Carroll County Sheriff Andy Dickson asked the community to pray for the victims’ families and first responders.
“These victims, families, everybody’s in our prayers tonight, for the days going forward,” Dickson said.
“I ask that you keep all our first responders in your prayers because they witnessed some stuff today that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” he added.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Plotzer said the THP’s Motor Carrier Plus division and school bus inspection unit are both involved in the ongoing investigation, which is in its earliest stages.
“We will not stop working until we answer these questions,” Plotzer said.
Chaplains and peer support teams have been deployed to assist both students and first responders.
SCENE — Carroll County sheriff’s deputies work the scene as a Montgomery County school bus rests on its end following a crash on Highway 70 on Friday. Photo by Suzy Butler