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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

In the wake of the fatal bus crash, Chattanooga stands strong

People hold balloons Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at East Lake Recreation Center during a memorial for Zoie Nash, who was killed in a bus crash this week.
People hold balloons Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at East Lake Recreation Center during a memorial for Zoie Nash, who was killed in a bus crash this week.

How to give

Give money to the families of the Woodmore Elementary bus crash victims by visiting: http://connect.chattanooga.gov/woodmore-donation.New Monumental Baptist Church, at 901 Woodmore Lane, is accepting physical donations for families.Officials with the Hamilton County Department of Education ask that all donations go through the church or the fund, as they are hoping to make Monday as normal a school day as possible for students and teachers at Woodmore.

When tragedy strikes, Chattanooga stands strong.

As ambulances carrying Woodmore Elementary students from bus No. 366 barreled toward the hospital Monday night and firefighters worked with police to rescue the children still trapped inside the toppled bus on Talley Road, people across the city became second responders.

Prayers were raised for the 37 children who were riding the bus, and their families. The line to donate at Blood Assurance quickly reached out the door, and people began preparing food. Others flooded the hospital, offering support to families awaiting news about their children. And teachers across the county arrived at Woodmore Elementary, preparing the school for the grieving teachers and students who would walk through its door Tuesday morning.