Bus Crash in Arkansas Leaves Child Dead and at Least 45 People Injured

A charter bus carrying a Tennessee youth football team that had played a championship game in Dallas over the weekend crashed in Central Arkansas early Monday, leaving one child dead, authorities said.

At least 45 other people — mostly children — were injured in the bus crash, according to the Arkansas State Police. The injured were taken to hospitals in Little Rock and Benton, Arkansas, a statement from police said.

Police said the driver of the bus indicated in an initial statement that she lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll off Interstate 30, west of Benton, around 2:40 a.m.

The bus is owned by Scott Shuttle Service of Somerville, Tennessee, police said. According to records with the federal Department of Transportation’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records system, the charter company has had no crashes in the last two years. A request to the bus service for comment was not immediately returned.

A state police spokesman, Bill Sadler, told CNN that the children on the bus were from 8 to 10 years old and accompanied by chaperones.

“When troopers arrived at the scene, many of the children were already off of the bus,” he said. “Some of them were stunned or had minor injuries.”

Aerial photos from the scene published Monday showed what looked like a large tear in the roof of the bus, and extensive damage to the left side.

Mayor Jim Strickland of Memphis said in a phone interview that the team was affiliated with a neighborhood group, the Orange Mound Youth Association, but that some of the players lived in other areas.

“It’s devastating,” Strickland said. “I know that the hearts and prayers of all Memphians go out to all the children and parents and their families.”