Tennessee school bus crash sends 23 students to hospital

NASHVILLE – Twenty-three students were hospitalized after a Tennessee school bus crashed and rolled over on an interstate off-ramp Friday, but authorities said none suffered life-threatening injuries.

The bus was one of three headed from Chester County in western Tennessee to an academic and community service convention in Nashville when it crashed as it left Interstate 65 northbound.

A 17-year-old student had a broken collarbone and two other students had arm injuries, Metro Nashville Fire Department spokesman Brian Haas said.

“Especially when children are involved in a crash, we err on the side of caution,” Haas said. “We get them to the hospital, make sure everything is OK.”

Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said 43 students were on the bus, along with two chaperones and the driver. The bus was on its way to a Beta Club convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

Aaron said the bus has been in service for a year. The driver told police she had trouble steering and felt wind on the bus when she drove off the interstate.