Colonial Hills Baptist Church Bus Crash: 3 Dead, 2 Dozen Injured in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Fire Department says three people were killed when a bus carrying teens from a church camp crashed on a busy thoroughfare near Interstate 465. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Michelle Pemberton)

A Colonial Hills Baptist Church bus coming back to Indiana crashed on Saturday, killing three and injuring 26 others.

The bus was carrying teenagers who were returning to Indiana from a church camp in Michigan. It crashed just a few minutes from the church, reported The Associated Press.

Three people--a husband and a wife, and a teen--were killed in the incident, and 26 others were sent to nearby hospitals with injuries, officials told AP.

“They were not that far from home. ... That only adds to the tragedy,” Indianapolis Public Safety Director Troy Riggs told the news agency.

All three died at the scene of the accident, the Indianapolis Fire Department told the Indianapolis Star. The victims’ names were not released.

Witnesses said they saw the bus turn at a high rate of speed before it overturned.

“It was going very fast,” Carol Albright, a local, told the Star. “It hit the median that divides the southbound lanes of Keystone from the ramp to 465. The nose of the bus hit the barricade. It kind of pivoted on the nose of the bus and did a little bit of a twist. How it didn’t hit another car, I don’t know.’’

She added that other drivers got out of their cars and helped the bus crash victims.

 WTHR-TV reported that the driver of the church-owned bus said the brakes failed. However, officials were unsure if the bus had mechanical problems or not, AP reported.

Duane Lloyd, who was driving near the scene the accident, told WTHR: “I heard a skid. I looked back. I see this bus in the air and people falling out of the bus. I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.”

He confirmed that many came to help.

“Right afterwards...it’s amazing. They talk about Hoosier Hospitality and how people run into action. I really didn’t think about it. People were stopping their cars. People were literally trying to lift the bus,” he said. “You just try to do what you can do.”

John Murphy, a witness, was quoted by CNN as saying that “there was a lot of blood. There was an awful lot of blood.”

There were 37 passengers on board the bus when it overturned.