A terrifying school bus crash in Mississippi left 18 people injured after a bus carrying 22 elementary-age children overturned on a busy highway and ejected several students.
The crash happened around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, on Highway 45 near Artesia Road in Lowndes County.
According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, a 2025 Honda Civic driven east on Artesia Road collided with a Lowndes County School District bus traveling north on Highway 45. The impact sent the bus off the roadway, where it rolled over.
There were 22 students between the ages of 6 and 11 on board at the time.
Sixteen children were injured, with authorities describing the injuries as ranging from minor to severe. The bus driver and the driver of the Honda were also hospitalized, bringing the total number of injured people to 18.
Three children ultimately required air transport.
One student was flown directly from the crash scene to a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Two other students were first taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus before being airlifted to Children’s of Mississippi in Jackson for further evaluation.
Witness Nikki Cooperwood said she saw the violent crash unfold and immediately ran toward the overturned bus.
“Once it stopped, I just jumped out of my vehicle,” Cooperwood told WTVA.
She said her first hope was that no children were inside.
“But once I got out, you could hear the kids screaming and hollering,” she recalled.
Cooperwood began pulling children out through a window before two other men rushed over and managed to open the bus’s rear emergency exit.
Together, the bystanders helped get the remaining students out.
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said several children were ejected when the bus rolled, while some parents were able to pick up their children directly from the crash scene.
The following day, Lowndes County School District Superintendent Dr. Sam Allison said officials were grateful the outcome had not been even worse.
“We are thankful today the outcome of Tuesday’s bus accident was not more tragic,” Allison said, adding that several of those injured faced a “road to recovery.”
He also thanked first responders for their quick response and urged drivers to use extra caution whenever they encounter school buses on the road.
The district’s warning came as investigators continued working to determine exactly how the crash unfolded.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol’s accident reconstruction team responded to the scene, and the crash remains under investigation. Authorities have not announced any charges.
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