Ohio School Bus Crash: What We Know About Cause of Fatal Accident

An elementary-aged student is dead, and 23 others are injured after a tragic Northwestern Local Schools bus accident in Ohio on Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred just outside of Springfield, Ohio, at 8:16 a.m. One elementary-aged student was killed after being ejected from the bus, and another is battling life-threatening injuries. Of the 52 children on the bus, 23 were taken to a local hospital. It was the student's first day back at school after summer break.

On Tuesday afternoon, WLWT reporter Brian Hamrick posted on social media that police determined a van crossed lanes and caused the crash.

"Police are saying an [sic] van went left of center forcing the school bus off the road outside of Springfield, Ohio," Hamrick posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Ohio State Highway Patrol said that the bus was driving west on State Route 41 while the Honda was driving east at the same time, according to a report by NBC4. Hamrick included two photos in his post, one of a gray Honda van with a crumpled dash and one of the school bus. The school bus had overturned on its side.

Newsweek reached out to the Ohio State Highway Patrol by email for comment.

The tragic accident also left the 68-year-old bus driver with minor injuries although the driver was not taken to the hospital, NBC4 reported. The van's driver and passenger were both over 30 years old, according to the report, and were taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. According to the report, a tow truck was instructed to adjust the bus so police could continue investigating. The school bus was still overturned as of noon.

Thirteen of the injured students were transported to the hospital by medical crews, and parents transported 10 of the students, according to the NBC4 report.

The Northwestern Local Schools Facebook page posted a solemn message about the heartbreaking accident on Facebook.

"Northwestern Family, I am saddened to report that there was an Injury accident this morning involving one our buses," the post said, adding that State Route 41 near the school was closed. We will be dismissing at are usual times. We are expecting bus drop off times to be off this afternoon, so please be patient. I will send another update later today."

The post received more than two dozen supportive comments as of Thursday afternoon, although some community members felt the school should have closed and sent students home early.

Newsweek reached out to Northwestern Local Schools by phone for comment.