Seven people, including a 6-year-old and a 16-year-old, were killed and 36 others were injured after a passenger bus traveling from Atlanta to Dallas crashed in Mississippi. The bus overturned on Interstate 20 in Warren County early Saturday morning. The Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to the scene around 12:40 a.m. and stated that no other vehicles were involved in the crash. The cause of the accident is not clear at this time, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the bus experienced a tire failure while on the interstate.
Six passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while one died in a nearby hospital. All seven victims were from Guatemala, including a brother and sister. The identities of the deceased have not been released pending notification of next of kin. The 36 survivors were taken to hospitals with unknown injuries. The bus had 41 passengers on board, according to a manifest, which did not include the two drivers. The bus was a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus registered to Regiomontanos Autobuses, a company based in Laredo, Texas, with a location in Atlanta.
Regiomontanos Autobuses has been involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and one minor crash requiring a tow truck in the 24 months prior to the accident. The company’s buses and drivers had a lower rate of being out of service compared to the national average for similar carriers during that time frame. The company’s federal carrier safety rating was listed as “conditional,” and a compliance review was conducted to investigate potential safety violations or complaints. The NTSB will be sending a team to investigate the crash in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division.
The crash is currently under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division. Regiomontanos Autobuses did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the company’s phone line directed media inquiries to call back later. The company reported that its buses traveled nearly 2.1 million miles in 2023. Regiomontanos Autobuses is listed as a for-hire transportation company, and the compliance review was conducted due to safety concerns. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration conducts compliance reviews to investigate potential violations of safety regulations or complaints about motor carriers.
The NTSB will be investigating the crash further in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Tangni Noriega is an assignment editor for NBC News, while Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter. Michelle Acevedo also contributed to the reporting of this tragedy. The crash has brought devastation to the families of the victims, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the accident and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
