2 Houston ISD students dead, 2 others and bus driver injured as school bus plummets from 610 Loop

Two students died in September when a school bus veered from the 610 Loop in southeast Houston. Two students died in September when a school bus veered from the 610 Loop in southeast Houston. Photo: Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle Photo: Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 51 Caption Close 2 Houston ISD students dead, 2 others and bus driver injured as school bus plummets from 610 Loop 1 / 51 Back to Gallery

Two students died and two others were hurt along with their bus driver Tuesday morning when a collision caused a school bus to plunge from Loop 610 in southeast Houston, officials said.

The bus landed on the eastbound frontage road of the South Loop near Telephone Road about 7 a.m., Houston police said. It appears to be the first death of a student in a public school bus accident in Texas since at least 2008, according to state data.

The dead students were identified as a 14-year-old Furr High School freshman Janiecia Chatman and Mariya Johnson, a 17-year-old student at REACH charter school, a dropout recovery school on the Furr campus. The freshman died at a hospital and the older student at the scene. The bus was en route to the Furr campus, school officials said.

The other two students, both who attend REACH, had serious injuries, officials said. An HISD official identified one of the injured students as Lakeshia Williams; the other was her twin brother, Brandon.

The bus driver was identified as Luisa Pacheco, was taken to Ben Taub Hospital. She had non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The bus was equipped with seat belts, HISD said.

As police continue their investigation, Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said the driver of a Buick LaSabre told investigators she thought another vehicle near her was drifting into her lane. She veered away and hit the side of the bus. Pacheco apparently over-corrected and the bus careened from the overpass, Senties added.

An HPD news release issued on Tuesday said the Buick driver made an "unsafe lane change" that caused the accident. The driver, who was not injured, showed no signs of impairment. She was questioned and released at the scene and has not been charged, HPD said.

HISD chief of staff Jason Spencer said the driver of the LeSabre is a teacher in the district.

School, city and state officials sent messages after the fatal collision, calling for prayer.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragedy," said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who is vacationing this week and who announced last week that he will resign in March. "I ask all of the HISD community to join me in praying for all of those involved."

On Tuesday afternoon, Houston Mayor Annise Parker took to Twitter, calling the students' deaths "an incomprehensible loss."

"We offer prayers for the victims of the terrible school bus accident this morning," she said, in the tweet.

HISD trustee Juliet Stipeche spoke at the school shortly before dismissal.

"This place, this school, these buildings are a home for these children," she said. "It's a devastating loss."

Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement as well, offering his condolences.

"The State of Texas mourns the loss of Texas students today in a tragedy no parent should ever have to experience," he said. "Cecilia and I send our thoughts and prayers to the families affected by this heartbreaking incident, and I ask all Texans to support and keep Houston ISD and its community in their thoughts and prayers as they heal from this loss."

On Tuesday afternoon, the National Traffic and Safety Board said it was investigating.

Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 46 occupant fatalities from school transportation-related crashes from 2008 to 2013.

"It's a relatively rare event," said Gordon Trowbridge, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Video: Video: Students killed in HISD bus crash

Counselors were at Furr, 520 Mercury Drive, to support students and staff, HISD spokeswoman Holly Huffman said.

Guardrails along the overpass were damaged when the bus plunged from the freeway and ended up below the bridge. The wreck forced officials to block the freeway while crews cleared the scene.

Traffic remained slow in the area during the afternoon rush hour as crews worked to repair pavement damage.

Spencer said that it has been at least 15 years since an HISD student on board a school bus was killed in a wreck.

Pacheco, the driver, has been with HISD since May 2013, according to HISD personnel records. She has a clean driving record, HISD officials said. She was from the district's central motor pool, said Wretha Thomas, head of the district's bus drivers' union.

"This is the worst I've ever seen in my 30 years as union president," she said, adding that many of the union's drivers were in mourning. She said she was asking HISD to send counselors to talk to district drivers before they head out on their afternoon route.

"We ask our drivers to pray, before they go out on their routes in morning and evening, for safety," said Thomas.

HISD Transportation General Manager Nathan Graf said later Tuesday that Pacheco was near the end of the route when the accident occurred.

District officials said that records show that the bus last underwent a maintenance inspection in July.

The vehicle was purchased new in 2008 and was equipped with lap belts for students. It also has seven security cameras, officials said, and footage from those cameras is being reviewed as part of the investigation.

At Furr, instruction continued as usual, as did a scheduled student-run food drive. In the late morning, some parents came by to pick up food. Chris White also came to check on his children.

"I woke up to it (news of the crash) and I came up here to check on them. They're OK," White said. "They called me but I missed the call. I already saw it on TV. It's really scary. It could be anyone's child. My heart goes out to those families."

On Tuesday afternoon, Bertie Simmons, principal of both Furr High School and REACH Charter High School, said that dozens of students visited grief counselors the district had brought in after the crash. Principals from schools across the district - and some as far away as New York - had called offering their condolences and support.

"I can't tell you heavy my heart is," Simmons said. "We've had other students killed on the street but never on their way to get educated."

She had just recently spoken with the slain 14-year-old, a girl Simmons described as "happy," and who she said couldn't "wait to get out and make something of herself." Of the 17-year-old, Simmons said the she "was doing her very best to get her diploma."

Houston Chronicle reporters Dale Lezon, Dylan Baddour, Dug Begley, Carol Christian, Craig Hlavaty, Emma Hinchliffe, St. John Barned-Smith and researcher Joyce Lee contributed to this report.