An Adams County school bus driver who had just picked up about 28 members of the Legacy High School football team at Denver International Airport died Sunday afternoon when she circled back to the airport and crashed into a concrete pillar.
The female bus driver was killed in the crash, Denver police Sgt. Mike Farr said. And 15 players and three coaches suffered injuries requiring hospitalization.
Four adults were riding in the yellow bus, including the driver, and the adults apparently bore the brunt of the impact as the front of the bus crumpled.
Two passengers were in critical condition and two were in serious condition at Denver Health Medical Center. Another was in fair condition, Denver Health officials said. Six passengers were taken to Children’s Hospital in fair condition, and at least four were released. Others were taken to University Hospital.
Most of the students who were injured were released from hospitals by late Sunday, according to a letter Legacy principal Sara Marx sent to parents Sunday night. However, she wrote that three school staffers remained in hospitals “for further care.”
Two other Adams County school buses were at the airport picking up team members and were not involved in the crash.
“The bus driver circled back around to this level. We don’t know why,” DPD’s Farr said.
“The early information from the other bus drivers is that it was quite curious to them. They really don’t know why.”
At the scene, paramedics worked to extricate the driver and injured passengers from the mangled metal and glass at the front of the bus after airbags deployed. The Denver Fire Department, airport teams and other agencies responded to the crash.
The bus driver had picked up about 28 players before leaving DIA — they were headed home after a trip to California — and she circled back to the airport terminal, DIA spokeswoman Stacy Stegman said.
The crash happened at 4:08 p.m. The bus was moving up one of two public-access roadways, “level 4,” police said. Shortly before reaching the terminal, the bus veered off the right side of the roadway and collided with the concrete pillar.
Bus driver killed on school bus crash came back through Denver international airport pic.twitter.com/2N6L3hAh6N
— Bruce Finley (@finleybruce) September 11, 2016
School district officials said they could not provide information and the names of those on the bus were not released. School district officials at DIA declined to provide information or discuss what happened.
Legacy High School, in Broomfield, is part of the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district. The Legacy football team traveled to California to participate in a tournament where Legacy lost to Chino High School on Friday night.
Parents raced to DIA Sunday evening. The uninjured students were pulled into a conference room, where Denver police investigators interviewed them about what happened on the bus. DIA officials provided water and snacks.
“The kids are pretty shook-up,” Stegman said. “It was an unusual incident.”
In the letter to parents, Marx said: “Our heartfelt condolences go to the driver’s family and our thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected.”
“Incidents such as this impact people in unexpected ways, even if they were not directly involved. Please pay attention to your child and encourage him or her to speak with the counseling department or members of the crisis team,” it said.
“Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers to the members of our team, families and community.”
This is homecoming week for Legacy. Marx said some events will be postponed, including a “Powderpuff” football game that was planned for Monday evening. A crisis team will be at the school Monday to help students, she said.
