3 students die in bus plunge from overpass

A school bus packed with high school students smashed through a guardrail along an overpass in Huntsville and crashed nose-first 30 feet below, killing three teenage girls and injuring at least 30 other people, some critically, authorities said.

A car driven by another high school student apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to plow through the concrete rail on the elevated section of Interstate 565, said Police Chief Rex Reynolds. Two girls died at the scene, and a third died at a hospital.

Students on the bus, which had no seat belts, were screaming when rescue workers arrived, officials said. “They were thrown all over the bus,” said Fire Chief Dusty Underwood. Some had to be pulled from the crushed front of the vehicle.