AUSTIN, Texas — Dozens of pre-kindergarteners were coming back from a field trip when their school bus was involved in a deadly crash on Friday in the Texas Hill Country, according to officials.
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Service said the crash happened at 2:17 p.m. on State Highway 21 near the Travis/Bastrop County line, about 50 miles east of downtown Austin.
The EMS posted about the crash on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying crews responded to a crash involving at least 40 people.
In a news release, Hays CISD confirmed that 44 students and 11 adults were on the school bus during the major crash.
The district said that the bus was carrying prekindergarten students from Tom Green Elementary School who were returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo.
“Parents of students on the bus have been notified directly from the campus. The district is in the process of conducting reunification. Hays CISD transportation staff, counselors, safety and security personnel, and other administrators have all joined first responders either at the accident scene or at the reunification location,” the district said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety told ABC News that the “very serious accident” involved the school bus, another vehicle with passengers, and a concrete truck.
Officials said helicopters took four patients to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, and three others were driven to the hospital.
Sources told ABC News that at least two people were killed.
Details about the crash were not immediately provided including the cause, the victims’ ages, or conditions.
Bastrop County is included in the Austin-Round Rock, Texas, metropolitan statistical area.
This is a breaking news story. Check back with this article for updates.
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