A Leander ISD school bus rolled over Wednesday in the Sandy Creek area near Leander with 42 children and one adult inside.
Twelve people were transported to local hospitals, Kevin Parker, assistant chief of Austin-Travis County EMS, said at a news conference. One person has life-threatening injuries and two others have “potentially” life-threatening injuries, he said. The rest of the injuries were non-life-threatening, he said.
The bus mainly served Bagdad Elementary School, Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing said. The bus driver, whom Gearing called a “seasoned veteran,” was one of the people taken to the hospital.
Billy Ray, a public information officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the bus was traveling south on Nameless Road — which has a slight curve — when it left the right side of the road “for an unknown reason” and rolled over. He said an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods, and this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts.”
Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing
The crash was not related to flood damage in the Sandy Creek area, Gearing said.
The bus was taking students home from school. Gearing said he believed no student had been dropped off yet.
First responders began receiving reports about the crash around 3:15 p.m. Officials told people to avoid the area.
Round Mountain Baptist Church was serving as a reunification center. ATCEMS said students who didn’t need to go to the hospital were taken to the church.
The school bus was a 2024 model with seat belts, Gearing said. Students are required to wear seat belts on buses that have them, but the superintendent said officials don’t know how many students were wearing them at the time of the crash.
Wednesday was the first day of school for Leander ISD. Gearing said school will still be in session Thursday, and the district is preparing counselors to support Bagdad students and families.
“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods, and this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts,” he said. “We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them.”
2024 Hays CISD bus crash
Last year, a school bus carrying Hays CISD students rolled over in Bastrop County, leaving one adult and one child dead. The bus was bringing Tom Green Elementary pre-K students back from a field trip when a concrete truck veered into the bus’ lane.
The concrete truck driver pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges.
The crash sparked conversations about ensuring all district buses have seat belts. Since then, Hays CISD has worked to buy school buses with seat belts and retrofit its fleet.
In May, voters approved nearly $1 billion in bonds for the school district, including $7 million to buy new buses with seat belts.
State funding for seat belts
A state law passed in 2017 requires all new school buses bought by districts to be equipped with lap and shoulder seat belts after a deadly school bus crash in Houston.
During the 2009 legislative session, state lawmakers set aside $10 million for the School Bus Seat Belt Grant Program. Austin ISD was one of four districts in the state that applied for funding.
