![Old courthouse, Prestonsburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Old_courthouse%2C_Prestonsburg.jpg)
The collision and plunge into
Big Sandy River involving a
school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
near
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Prestonsburg is a small home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. It is in the eastern part of the state in the valley of the Big Sandy River. The population was 3,255 at the time of the 2010 censu ...
, on February 28, 1958, resulted in the deaths of 26 students and the bus's driver. It was the third-deadliest
bus crash in
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
history, tied for fatalities with the
Carrollton, Kentucky bus collision
The Carrollton bus collision occurred on May 14, 1988, on Interstate 71 in unincorporated Carroll County, Kentucky. The collision involved a former school bus in use by a church youth group and a pickup truck driven by an alcohol-impaired drive ...
in 1988. The only deadlier crashes were
a 1963 bus-train crash in
Chualar, California
Chualar (Spanish for "Pigweed grove") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Chualar is located southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of . The popula ...
and the 1976
Yuba City bus disaster
The Yuba City bus disaster occurred on May 21, 1976 in Martinez, California. A chartered school bus transporting 52 passengers on an elevated offramp left the roadway, landing on its roof. Of the 52 passengers (not including the driver), 28 s ...
, which claimed the lives of 29 people.
Crash
On a cold and cloudy morning, after a period of heavy rains and thaw, a
Floyd County school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
loaded with 48 elementary and high school students bound for school in
Prestonsburg,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
struck the rear of a wrecker truck on
U.S. Route 23
}
U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sinc ...
and fell down an embankment into the swollen waters of the
Levisa Fork
The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nati ...
of the
Big Sandy River, where it was swept downstream and submerged.
Response
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
and other authorities and agencies responded to the disaster. On March 5, 1958, governor
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also se ...
ordered 500 nationals guardsmen from 9 different cities to join the effort to find those still missing.
["Prestonburg Holds Burial Rites for 13 in Bus Tragedy." ''The Advocate-Messenger'', March 5, 1958, pg 1. ] The bus was finally located by
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
divers, and removed from the river 53 hours later.
Victims
Twenty-two children escaped the bus in the first few minutes as it became fully submerged in the raging flood stage waters and made it safely out of the river. However, 26 other children and the bus driver drowned.
# Reva Cheryl Matney, 7, of
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Prestonsburg is a small home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. It is in the eastern part of the state in the valley of the Big Sandy River. The population was 3,255 at the time of the 2010 censu ...
.
["List of Dead in Bus Plunge." ''The Messenger.'' March 3, 1958, pg. 1. https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?institutionId=0&user=7715884&id=530860136&clippingId=61393425&width=557&height=1581&crop=2285_2628_600_1735&rotation=0]
# Sandra Faye Cline, 8, of
Lancer, Kentucky.
# Anna Laura Goble, 9, of
Emma, Kentucky
Emma is an unincorporated community and coal town in Floyd County, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. ...
.
["Lima Resident Visits At Bus Tragedy Scene." ''The Lima Citizen''. March 13, 1958, pg 7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/666000529/]
# James Edison Carey, 9, of Emma, Kentucky.
# Paulette Cline, 9, of Lancer, Kentucky.
# John Spencer Goble, 11, of Emma, Kentucky.
# James Edward Goble, 12, of Emma, Kentucky.
["Rites Are Held For 13 Victims: Four More Bodies Are Recovered; Search Continues For Other Seven." ''The Lexington Herald-Leader''. March 5, 1958. pg 1, 12. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112662015/lexington-herald-leader/]
# John Harlan Hughes Jr., 13, of Lancer, Kentucky.
# Katie Carol Jarrell, 13, of
Sugar Loaf, Kentucky.
# Jane Carrol Harris, 14, of Emma, Kentucky.
# Emma Joyce Ann Matney, 14, of Emma, Kentucky.
# Kenneth Forrest Cisco, 14, of Sugar Loaf, Kentucky.
# Marcella Jervis, 14, of Emma, Kentucky.
# Montaine Jervis, 14, of Endicott, Kentucky.
# Linda Darby, 14, of
Cow Creek, Kentucky
Cow Creek is an unincorporated community in Owsley County, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It bord ...
.
# Nannie Joyce McPeek, 13, of Lancer, Kentucky. She was predeceased by her parents, Allen Roby McPeek and Roma McPeek. At the time of her death, she was living with the Cline family.
# Bucky Ray Jarrell, 15, of Sugar Loaf, Kentucky.
# Doris Faye Burchett, 15, of Emma, Kentucky. Her body was found on April 16, 1958. Her uncle, Graham Burchett, headed volunteer search efforts to help recover bodies from the crash site for months after the crash.
["Body of Another School Bus Victim is Found in River." ''The Messenger-Inquirer'', April 16, 1958, pg 4. https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?institutionId=0&user=7715884&id=381770894&clippingId=112663799&width=557&height=2369&crop=2609_304_626_2712&rotation=0 ]
# James Thomas Ousley, 15, of Lancer, Kentucky.
# Margaret Louise Hunt, 15, of Cow Creek, Kentucky.
# Thomas Roosevelt Jarvis, 15, of
Buffalo Creek, Kentucky
Buffalo most commonly refers to:
* Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo
* Bison, including the American buffalo
* Buffalo, New York
Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to:
Animals
* Bubalina, a subtribe of the t ...
.
# Glenda May Cisco, 16, of Sugar Loaf, Kentucky.
# Joyce McPeak, 16.
# Katherine Justice, 17, of
Endicott, Kentucky.
# Emogene Darby, 17, of Cow Creek, Kentucky.
# Randy Scott Wallen, 17, of Lancer, Kentucky.
# John Alex DeRossett, 27, of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. He was the driver of the bus.
Aftermath
The crash would become the impetus behind the formation of the Floyd County Emergency & Rescue Squad, founded by volunteers on April 27, 1958. To this day, the FCERS remains a 100% volunteer agency, and assists local police departments, volunteer fire departments, and EMS with auto extrication, search and rescue, fireground support, and EMS first response in addition to its original role as the primary water rescue agency for the area.
The 27-person death toll is tied with the
Carrollton bus disaster
The Carrollton bus collision occurred on May 14, 1988, on Interstate 71 in unincorporated Carroll County, Kentucky. The collision involved a former school bus in use by a church youth group and a pickup truck driven by an alcohol-impaired drive ...
in 1988 for the third highest number of fatalities resulting from a bus crash. Both happened in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and in each, the victims were all thought to have survived the initial collisions, but were unable to safely evacuate the school-type buses afterwards. After the 1988 crash, Kentucky changed its public school bus equipment requirements and requires a higher number of emergency exits than any other state or Canadian province.
Depiction in media
Several months later, two American recording artists released songs about the crash:
The Stanley Brothers
The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter perform ...
, with "No School Bus in Heaven," and
Ralph Bowman
Ralph Blaylock "Scotty" Bowman (June 20, 1911 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – October 17, 1990) was a Canadian ice hockey player. Bowman played seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Eagles and Detroit Red Wings ...
, with "The Tragedy of Bus 27." Neither made the national ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
charts, but they did receive regional airplay in some parts of the country.
In recent years the accident has been the subject of two documentary films, ''The Very Worst Thing'' and ''A Life of Its Own'', and the site of the bus accident has been marked by a sign bearing a dark image of a school bus superimposed with the names of the children and driver that died. There is usually a wreath of plastic flowers on the guardrail in front of the sign, which is located on Route 1428 (old US 23) east of the intersection of Route 302.
See also
*
Wayne Corporation
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading p ...
– History of a different school bus manufacturer with information about bus safety engineering
References
Prestonsburg School Bus Crash*
{{coord, 37.672199, -82.719796, display=title
Bus incidents in the United States
Transport disasters in 1958
1958 in Kentucky
Floyd County, Kentucky
Transportation disasters in Kentucky
1958 road incidents
February 1958 events in the United States