The National Transportation Safety Board is joining the Knoxville Police Department in investigating Tuesday's deadly school bus crash.
Shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, a Knox County school bus carrying 22 students from Chilhowee Intermediate School was traveling eastbound on Asheville Highway. Suddenly, for a cause not yet known to investigators, the driver, 47-year-old James Davenport, took a sharp left. The bus crossed over the concrete median and slammed into the side of a westbound Knox County school bus that was carrying a total of two adults and 18 kids. The impact knocked the second bus on its side and caused it to slide along the road.
Three passengers in that second school bus died: Zykia Burns, 6; Seraya Glasper, 7; and 46 year old teacher's aide Kimberly Riddle.
The National Transportation Safety Board's Office of Highway Safety investigates vehicular crashes involving school bus fatalities.
NTSB investigator Robert Accetta flew in Wednesday night from Texas. His fellow NTSB investigator flew in from Colorado.
Accetta, the lead investigator on this incident, said the NTSB is conducting a focused investigation - instead of a full investigation - into the crash.
"In this particular investigation, we're focusing more on the occupant protection and the occupant kinematics of the accident," Accetta said. "We really are not looking at all aspects of the accident investigation, so we will only be here maybe a week or less."
He said while the Knoxville Police Department is looking into the cause of the crash, the NTSB is interested, specifically, in what during the crash caused the injuries and fatalities.
"We do look at everything: the location of the passengers, especially in the crash zone or the area that was impacted, and the occupants that were not directly in the impact area to see how they received injuries or if they received fatal injuries," Accetta said.
The crash report, he said, can help lead to improved safety on school buses.
"Much of the compartmentalization of school buses is a result of recommendations the safety board has made from past investigations with school bus accidents," he said. "When you look at the interior of a school bus, the high seat backs that are padded, the seats themselves are padded. In frontal and rear collisions, the occupants have more space to impact softer portions of the bus and receive less severe injuries."
He said because of these frequently improved school bus designs, parents shouldn't worry about sending their kids off to school.
"School buses are one of the safest vehicles on the road," Accetta said. "There have been a lot of improvements in the school bus design, and, unfortunately, side impacts are probably one of the worst type of impacts you can have with a school bus, as in this case."
Accetta has worked with the NTSB for more than 20 years and said this crash ranks among the most serious he's seen.
"Whenever it involves a school bus and children, of course, it's a tragedy," Accetta said. "Just the fact that it involved children-- it's severe."
He said he and his fellow investigator will be in Knoxville for only about a week, but then they'll return to their respective homes to continue working on the crash report, which is a process that could take up to a year.
"We will have this accident documented that we may be able to combine with other accidents that may happen around the country," Accetta said. "There may be recommendations in the future from this accident as well as any other accidents we investigate involving school buses."
He said exactly which portion of the crash caused the three fatalities is still under investigation. He did say the three people who died were on the side of the second bus that was hit by the first bus.
