11 are injured after a bus carrying University of South Carolina students crashed in Hancock County on Friday afternoon.
The charter bus heading to New Orleans for a Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity formal was carrying 59 people at the time of the wreck on I-10 westbound past Highway 603, per the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
According to WLOX, the cause of the crash was a tire blew out, resulting in the bus tipping onto two wheels. As it came back down, the driver was ejected before a student took control of the vehicle and brought it to a stop. The driver is one of two people listed in critical condition.
The remaining students were transported by Hancock County School District buses to a nearby school building, where they arranged further transportation.
“The University of South was informed [Friday night] of an accident in Mississippi involving a charter bus carrying USC fraternity members and their guests traveling to an event in New Orleans,” an official statement from the university reads. “USC is working closely with local authorities on the scene to obtain updates on our students and to assist in whatever capacity we can. Our thoughts go out to the students involved in the accident and those affected by it.”
