Postcrash photographs showing the left-front view of the dump truck (left) and the left-rear view of the school bus (right). The

​Postcrash photographs showing the left-front view of the dump truck (left) and the left-rear view of the school bus (right). The left front of the SUV can also be seen adjacent to the roadway centerline (right). (Source: Tennessee Highway Patrol)​

School Bus Centerline Crossover and Multivehicle Collision

What Happened

​​This information is preliminary and subject to change.

​​​​Release Date 16 April ​2026​

On Friday, March 27, 2026, about 11:35 a.m. central daylight time, a 2024 Blue Bird Conventional Type C school bus operated by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System was traveling west on US-70 between Cedar Grove and Huntingdon in Carroll County, Tennessee. The school bus was occupied by a driver, four adult chaperones, and 24 student passengers. The bus was taking students from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville to a school event in Jackson. At the same time, a 2013 International WorkStar dump truck, operated by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and a 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle (SUV) were traveling east on US-70. The dump truck and the SUV each were occupied by a driver and one passenger. As the vehicles approached each other, the school bus crossed the centerline of the roadway and entered the eastbound travel lane. The left side of the school bus struck the left side of the dump truck in a sideswipe collision. After impacting the dump truck, the school bus collided with the SUV, departed the roadway to the south, and came to rest facing down the roadside embankment but remained upright.

As a result of the crash, two student passengers in the school bus died. The school bus driver sustained serious injuries, and the remaining bus passengers sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious. The two occupants of the dump truck sustained serious injuries. The occupants of the SUV were uninjured.

At the time of the crash, the weather was clear and the roadway was dry. At this location, US-70 was a two-lane roadway with one eastbound traffic lane and one westbound traffic lane. The speed limit in this section of US-70 was 55 mph.

​Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:

  • ​Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
  • Tennessee Highway Patrol

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.

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