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School Bus Accident In Vandalia, Illinois
Aired August 27, 2003 - 11:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We will stay in Illinois and take you to the other story we have been following, Vandalia, Illinois to be exact, which ends up being about 60 miles northeast of St. Louis. You see the pictures now overhead of this school bus accident overturned on its side. We know at this point three students have been airlifted to a hospital. Not sure how old these students are or how badly they have been hurt. So we want to go ahead and bring in Jim Vazzi. He's with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, to help us get a little bit clearer idea about what has happened today.
Mr. Vazzi, are you with us?
VAZZI: I am.
COLLINS: What can you tell us at this point about how many people might be injured, and how badly.
JIM VAZZI, MONT. CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Well, I can't give you the extent. The ones airlifted out were the ones more serious. We also took the rest of them, which would be 13 others to four separate locations by ambulance. That would be to the Greenville Hospital, Hillsboro Hospital, Saint Francis and Vandalia Hospital.
COLLINS: Any idea what happened here?
VAZZI: There's -- it's being investigated now by a reconstructionist from the Illinois state police. I can say this, the road had recently been repaved and the guardrail has not been put up on that side of the road. And probably the deep ravine which was on that side of the road where the bus did enter and turn over.
COLLINS: What about the weather there? I'm wondering if...
VAZZI: The weather is sunshine, about 85 degrees. So the weather wasn't a factor, and there were no other vehicles involved.
COLLINS: OK, any idea about the bus driver? We heard some reports about the bus driver being injured as well.
VAZZI: All were transported by ambulance or taken to a hospital to be checked out.
COLLINS: We also know that this bus, or we believe we know the bus belonged to the Vandalia community school district?
VAZZI: That's correct.
COLLINS: The ages of those students approximately on board at the time?
VAZZI: They would be anywhere from grade school to high school. It was a route that they would just pick up students in that location and take them to the different school in Vandalia, from the Montgomery County, the south part of Montgomery County, which is where it happened.
COLLINS: So this may have happened, I'm not positive of the time it did happen.
VAZZI: It happened approximately 7:26 is when we got the call.
COLLINS: So possibly on their way to school.
VAZZI: Correct.
COLLINS: Very good. Jim Vazzi, with the Montgomery County sheriff's department there in Vandalia, Illinois.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 27, 2003 - 11:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We will stay in Illinois and take you to the other story we have been following, Vandalia, Illinois to be exact, which ends up being about 60 miles northeast of St. Louis. You see the pictures now overhead of this school bus accident overturned on its side. We know at this point three students have been airlifted to a hospital. Not sure how old these students are or how badly they have been hurt. So we want to go ahead and bring in Jim Vazzi. He's with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, to help us get a little bit clearer idea about what has happened today.
Mr. Vazzi, are you with us?
VAZZI: I am.
COLLINS: What can you tell us at this point about how many people might be injured, and how badly.
JIM VAZZI, MONT. CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Well, I can't give you the extent. The ones airlifted out were the ones more serious. We also took the rest of them, which would be 13 others to four separate locations by ambulance. That would be to the Greenville Hospital, Hillsboro Hospital, Saint Francis and Vandalia Hospital.
COLLINS: Any idea what happened here?
VAZZI: There's -- it's being investigated now by a reconstructionist from the Illinois state police. I can say this, the road had recently been repaved and the guardrail has not been put up on that side of the road. And probably the deep ravine which was on that side of the road where the bus did enter and turn over.
COLLINS: What about the weather there? I'm wondering if...
VAZZI: The weather is sunshine, about 85 degrees. So the weather wasn't a factor, and there were no other vehicles involved.
COLLINS: OK, any idea about the bus driver? We heard some reports about the bus driver being injured as well.
VAZZI: All were transported by ambulance or taken to a hospital to be checked out.
COLLINS: We also know that this bus, or we believe we know the bus belonged to the Vandalia community school district?
VAZZI: That's correct.
COLLINS: The ages of those students approximately on board at the time?
VAZZI: They would be anywhere from grade school to high school. It was a route that they would just pick up students in that location and take them to the different school in Vandalia, from the Montgomery County, the south part of Montgomery County, which is where it happened.
COLLINS: So this may have happened, I'm not positive of the time it did happen.
VAZZI: It happened approximately 7:26 is when we got the call.
COLLINS: So possibly on their way to school.
VAZZI: Correct.
COLLINS: Very good. Jim Vazzi, with the Montgomery County sheriff's department there in Vandalia, Illinois.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
