SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Emergency crews responded to the scene of a major wreck Monday morning (Jan. 19) involving two school buses, according to an officer on the scene.
It happened right around 11:15 a.m. Monday morning on Highway 3132 E near the entrance ramp to I-49 S. The highway is currently shutdown at that location. According to Caddo Parish dispatch records, at least 15 medical units with the Shreveport Fire Department responded, as well as several police units.
An official with SFD says the call went out as a “mass casualty” due to the number of possible patients involved, however, he says there are no fatalities.
A driver of one of the buses was injured and taken to a hospital, an official on the scene says.
SFD says 11 students and one of the bus drivers were all taken to area hospitals. All of those injuries are non-life-threatening, SFD says. They are all being taken to a hospital for treatment.
Caddo Schools officials say the students are all from Southwood High School’s band and were on their way to perform in the Krewe of Harambee MLK Day parade. The uninjured students are being reunited with their parents at the scene or taken back to the school to be picked up there.
Parents involved were notified by the school, an official says.
Here’s the full statement from Caddo Public Schools:
“At approximately 11:15 a.m., an accident occurred at the intersection of I-49 and LA 3132 involving two Caddo Parish School buses transporting the Southwood High School band to a downtown Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade performance.
Emergency responders arrived quickly and are actively managing the scene. At this time, eight individuals, including a driver and band students, have been transported to area hospitals with minor injuries. All other students are being safely transported from the scene by additional district buses back to Southwood High School, where they will be reunited with their families.
The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. We are grateful for the quick response of emergency personnel and for the care provided to our students.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the accident. We will continue to work closely with authorities and will provide updates to families and media partners as additional information becomes available."
After the incident we spoke with parade attendee Zakysha Jontnson, who lives near the crash site. Jontnson was too emotional to complete an interview about the incident. Her daughter Sheila, a Southwood alumna, spoke instead.
“My mama literally couldn’t even, like, do the interview,” Sheila said. “I guess the memories, like, I was in pep squad, cheer, all of it. And so just, like, thinking, I mean, hey, there could be any, you know, any. It could have been one of her kids.”
She added that thinking about parents receiving calls about their children being in the accident was particularly difficult.
“And so I absolutely, like, hate to hear that,” she said. “I know that they’re probably excited, you know, being on their way there. And, I mean, it’s cool. We got so much going on out here. And I really hate to hear that. I’m hoping everybody’s okay.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, SFD responded to two more wrecks in the same area that appear to have been caused by the backups from the initial school bus wreck.
There were minor injuries reported in one of those wrecks.