Multiple people injured in Sunday church bus crash
MEDON, Tenn. — A church bus crash Sunday morning in Medon sent multiple people to the hospital. There were 14 people inside when investigators said the bus was forced off the road and flipped. “People were screaming and hollering, and it was just chaos,” Don Lancaster, who lives nearby, said. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the crash happened around 10 a.m. on Highway 18 in Medon. “When we arrived on the scene, we had multiple patients,” Madison County Fire Chief Eric Turner said. “Some had been ejected from the bus. Some were still inside the bus.” Clay Geanes said he had family on the bus. Geanes said they were on their way from Jackson to Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Toone for a Christmas play. “I was at church this morning and I got a phone call from my brother saying they had had an accident, and when I came up Highway 18, I saw the van was turned over,” Geanes said. Geanes said his family travels that way every Sunday morning. Lt. Brad Wilbanks with the THP said the pickup truck was headed north on Highway 18 on the wrong side of the road when it hit the bus. “When two cars meet and one of them is on the wrong side of the road, it’s just not a good thing,” Wilbanks said. Wilbanks said two bus passengers were airlifted to a Memphis hospital and the others were treated in Jackson. Those who live near where the crash happened said the initial impact sounded bad. “A big boom — I knew what it was when I heard it so I grabbed the phone and dialed 911,” Deborah Tosh said. “I heard a big thump and looked out the window, and ambulances and people running everywhere,” Lancaster said. Tosh said he believes widening Highway 18 to four lanes would increase safety for everyone. “I’ve been living here 30 years and this is just a bad spot for some reason, and there’s been at least four or five wrecks that I know about right here,” Tosh said. Witnesses tell WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News they believe the driver of the truck was texting when the wreck happened, but the THP is still investigating. Wilbanks said possible charges may be filed against the driver of the truck. The names nor conditions of the passengers have been released.
