The driver of an electric utility truck told investigators he was looking in his mirror when the truck veered off the road, causing him to over-correct and crash into a Meigs County school bus last year, leaving two dead, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report.
The Oct. 27 crash claimed the life of the bus driver, 53-year-old Lisa Dillard, and a 7-year-old girl in the 7700 block of Highway 58 just before 4 p.m.
Seven other children were hospitalized after the crash, five of whom had to be airlifted.
It's not clear exactly how many students were on board. School officials have said there were 32 children and one adult. The Tennessee Highway Patrol has said there were 24, and the NTSB said 22 students were on board.
According to the NTSB, that area of Highway 58 is narrowed to one lane in each direction with a double yellow center line and rumble strips along the edges of both lanes. The posted speed limit is 55 mph.
The school bus was traveling south as the utility vehicle - a 2018 Freightliner truck, configured as a service vehicle for a local utility company and equipped with a boom arm - traveled in the opposite direction.
As the truck driver looked into his mirror, the truck drifted off the right edge of the pavement and its right tires went into the ditch. The driver steered back onto the road, but the truck "yawed counterclockwise and crossed into the southbound lane, in front of the school bus. The bus collided with the right side of the truck, between the rear axle and the front of the utility box, and also hit the right side of the boom arm," the NTSB report states.
This photo, included in the NTSB's preliminary report, shows damage to right side of the electric utility truck. Source: Tennessee Highway PatrolThe truck continued across the highway into the trees, coming to rest off the west side of the road. The school bus stayed in the southbound lane.
The school bus driver and the student, who was seated directly behind the driver, were trapped and had to be extricated. The utility truck driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
According to the NTSB, both drivers were properly licensed. Investigators are gathering training records and qualifications for both drivers, as well as reviewing footage from the several cameras inside and outside the bus.
"All aspects of the crash remain under investigation as the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes," the report states.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is also conducting a separate investigation of the crash. Highway patrol officials did not immediately respond to questions about whether the electric utility truck driver faces any criminal charges.
Those injured included elementary, middle and high school students, according to school officials.
School officials who responded to the scene said that, when they and first responders arrived, they found the older children comforting the younger ones.
The school bus was not equipped with passenger seat belts.
Contact Rosana Hughes at 423-757-6327, rhughes@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.