NTSB: Montgomery County school bus crossed center line in fatal accident

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report this week concerning the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System bus crash that killed two students, confirming that the bus crossed the centerline of the highway.

On March 27, the school bus was traveling in Carroll County on the way to a school event in Jackson. The bus was occupied by a driver, four adult chaperones, and 24 students. 

The NTSB report said a dump truck and an SUV were traveling in the opposite direction with two people in each vehicle.

According to the NTSB, as the vehicles approached each other, the school bus crossed the centerline of the roadway and entered the oncoming travel lane. The left side of the school bus struck the left side of the dump truck in a sideswipe collision. After impacting the dump truck, the school bus collided with the SUV, left the roadway and came to rest facing down the roadside embankment.

The crash was confirmed in dash cam video released by parents who were following the bus.

Two eighth-grade students from Kentwood Middle School were killed. The school bus driver sustained serious injuries, and the remaining bus passengers sustained minor to serious injuries. The two occupants of the dump truck sustained serious injuries. The occupants of the SUV were not injured.

The crash remains under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.