Three people were killed and at least 15 injured after a high school charter bus was struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70 in Ohio.
The accident occurred just before 9 a.m. on Interstate 70 West in Licking County, near the Smoke Road underpass.
Sean Grady, director of the Licking County Emergency Management Agency, said the charter bus was transporting students from a school in eastern Ohio. There were a total of 57 people on board, he said.
Images from the scene of the accident show that the rear of the bus is completely engulfed in flames.
The accident occurred just before 9 a.m. on Interstate 70 West in Licking County, near the Smoke Road underpass
Sean Grady, director of the Licking County Emergency Management Agency, said the charter bus seen here in flames was transporting students from a school in eastern Ohio
Images from the scene of the accident show that the rear of the bus is completely engulfed in flames
Additional images captured by traffic cameras and shared by the Ohio Department of Transportation show the emergency response on scene.
You can see thick clouds of smoke coming out of the two vehicles, while a massive deployment of rescue workers can be seen on site.
Images captured by 10TV show the rear of the bus engulfed in the worst of the flames, while the semi-truck was completely decimated.
The Ohio Department of Transportation said the estimated duration of the road closure is unknown at this time.
A public safety advisory was issued to motorists in the area of the accident advising that the closure would last several hours.
According to 10TV, the Columbus Division of Fire also had a hazmat team on scene.
The Ohio Department of Transportation said the estimated duration of the road closure is unknown at this time
So far five people have been taken to Grant, Mount Carmel East and Nationwide hospitals.
A spokesman for Grant Hospitals told the ABC: “We are preparing for any patients we admit. “We will be ready.”
A witness told ABC 6’s Kate Siefert at the scene, “My 10-year-old granddaughter is very upset.”
“They said they saw a firefighter get into the burning bus just before it exploded.”
Mickey Lymon, an investigator with the Licking County coroner’s office, said they were called to the scene but deferred other questions to state police.