One dead and 18 injured in horror school bus crash

A school bus driver has been killed and 18 others injured after following a head-on collision with a pick-up truck.

The horror crash took place in Ephraim, Utah around 120 miles south of Salt Lake City on December 12.

The pickup truck was traveling south at 8.30pm on US Route 89 when it veered out of its lane and scraped a north-bound school bus, per ABC4.

Authorities believe the pickup truck was being driven by a drowsy motorist who continued to head into oncoming traffic and slammed directly into a second school bus.

The driver, a 43-year-old man, sustained serious injuries and later died.

Two students were airlifted to the hospital in critical condition for further treatment. Officials have not disclosed where they were being treated.

The remaining students on the second bus were also taken to the hospital with various injuries.

A fatal crash between a pickup truck and a school bus in Utah left one dead and 18 others injured

A pick up truck collided head-on with a school bus carrying 17 students

The first school bus carried approximately 19 students on board and the second held 17.

Utah Department of Public Safety said that fatigued driving is suspected as it continues to investigate the crash.

Driving while drowsy can be fatal, per the National Highway Traffic Safety administration.

More than 630 people died in the US in 2023 from drowsy-driving related crashes.

Most crashes occur between midnight and 6am and involve a single driver with no passengers.

Most often, these incidents occur on rural roads and highways. US Route 89, however, is known as the National Park Highway and sprawls 848 miles.

None of the victims’ identities have been released.

Ephraim is in Utah’s South Sanpete County.

The students and driver were taken to the hospital for their injuries. The driver did not survive

While the school the buses belonged to has not been named, public school students in the small city attend Ephraim Elementary, Ephraim Middle, of Manti High Schools.

There are roughly 3,295 student in kindergarten through 12th grade, per Niche.

The Daily Mail contacted South Sanpete County’s superintendent, Ephraim Police and Utah Highway Patrol for more information.