25 Hospitalized After GA School Bus Carrying Football Team Overturns

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA — Twenty-two students and three adults were taken to hospitals after a school bus carrying a Georgia high school football team collided with a car and overturned Friday night, according to school officials and police.

The crash happened around 10:48 p.m. near Interstate 20 and State Route 138 in Rockdale County as the Salem High School football team was returning from an away game.

No fatalities were reported, and Rockdale County Public Schools said many of those taken to hospitals have since been treated and released.

The bus was carrying 27 people, including 17 football players, seven athletic trainers, two coaches and the driver.

Georgia State Patrol identified the bus driver as 74-year-old Walter Hackett of Conyers and the other vehicle's driver as 35-year-old Calvin Harling of Covington. Both were taken to hospitals for treatment.

According to state patrol, Hackett was driving a Freightliner school bus eastbound on I-20 and attempting to turn right onto State Route 138 when he lost control.

The bus crossed the southbound and northbound lanes of State Route 138 before striking a black Kia Soul driven by Harling in the left northbound lane, troopers said.

The collision caused the Kia to rotate before coming to rest facing south in the right northbound lane.

The school bus continued off the roadway onto the east shoulder, where it overturned and nearly completed a full rotation before coming to rest on its passenger side, according to state patrol.

Ambulances took some students to hospitals, while others were taken by their parents. One student was flown to a hospital by medical helicopter.

State patrol said all students were accounted for, but investigators were still working with school officials and National EMS to compile a complete list of injuries, hospital destinations, and how each student was transported.

The conditions of those hospitalized were not immediately available.

In a statement published Saturday, Rockdale County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Johnson expressed gratitude that no one was killed.

"We are deeply grateful that there were no fatalities and that many have been treated and released," Johnson said.

Johnson thanked first responders, medical personnel and school employees who helped students and staff following the crash.

School and district employees visited several hospitals, including Grady, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Piedmont facilities, to help students, staff members and their families.

"As our Salem family heals, we will continue to surround them with care and we ask our community to keep everyone involved in your thoughts throughout the recovery," Johnson said.

The Georgia State Patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash. Officers from the agency's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division were also called to the scene because the collision involved a school bus.

Authorities have not said what caused Hackett to lose control.