Truck Driver Says Brake Failure To Blame For Collision With School Bus

Bastrop, Texas – Remarkably, only nine students were injured, and none seriously, after a semi collided with a school bus Wednesday morning along State Highway 71. Twenty students were on board at the time of the crash. The driver of the bus, the truck driver and 10 students in all were taken to a nearby hospital.

Video surveillance of the crash from a nearby gas station shows the tractor-trailer plowing into the left side of the school bus as the school bus was attempting to make a right-hand turn onto the highway. The school bus had a green light.

The roads were wet and it was raining at the time of the accident. The driver of the semi later told authorities that he had a yellow light and “could not stop.”

Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety were on scene for hours inspecting the site and the semi, specifically the brakes. The truck driver blamed his inability to stop on brake failure. The investigation is on going and investigators have yet to make a determination on the truck driver’s claims.

The full video of the crash is below courtesy of KVUE/YouTube. The video news report is shared courtesy of KXAN/YouTube.

#BREAKING: At least 10 students taken to the hospital after Bastrop ISD bus involved in a collision on SH 71https://t.co/AJfZl8iFyu @KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/jgtHBTFK8n

— Candy Rodriguez (@CRodriguezKXAN) October 24, 2018

18-wheeler driver says he tried to stop before hitting Bastrop school bus, injuring 10 kids https://t.co/dpzlaLersr pic.twitter.com/2BAYsgSver

— Houston Informer (@houstoninformer) October 25, 2018