A bus carrying members of a high school football team was involved in a deadly crash in Denver (KTRK)
Updated 1 hr 49 mins ago
COLORADO -- A school bus carrying high school football players veered off a roadway and slammed into a concrete pillar at Denver International Airport, killing the driver and injuring 18 passengers, some seriously, officials said.
The bus had just picked up arriving members of the Legacy High School football squad Sunday afternoon and was circling back to the airport when it crashed. Airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman told the Denver Post that the bus carried 28 students and four adults.
The female driver died at the scene, police spokesman John White said. Ten people were hospitalized and eight others treated and released, officials said. The Post reported that the injured were 15 students and three coaches from the suburban Denver school.
Officials at Denver Health told KUSA TV station that they had five patients: two in critical condition, two in serious condition and one fair. The Post reported that five patients in fair condition were treated at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Police have not released any information on the cause of the crash, which occurred at 4:08 p.m., and White said they don't know why the driver was returning to the airport after picking up the team.
The driver's name and age have not been released.
Uninjured students gathered with parents inside the airport, the Post reported. Police interviewed the football players about the crash.
Legacy High School is in Broomfield, Colorado, and is part of Adams 12 Five Star Schools. The Post reports that the football team from Legacy played Chino High School on Friday night in California.
School officials told the newspaper that some of this week's homecoming events were being postponed, including a "Powderpuff" football game that was planned for Monday evening. A crisis team will be at the school Monday to help students.
The Adams 12 Five Star schools is a public district that serves suburbs north of Denver, including Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster.
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High School Football Bus Crashes in Denver, Driver Killed, 18 Injured
by Tim Stelloh and Alex Johnson
High School Football Bus Crashes, Killing Driver and Injuring Students 0:59
A school bus carrying members and coaches of a Colorado high school football team crashed into a concrete pillar Sunday at Denver International Airport, killing the driver and injuring 18 passengers, authorities said.
Joe Ferdani, a spokesman for the Adams 12 Five Star Schools District, said 15 students from Legacy High School in Broomfield, north of Denver, were transported to four hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Most have been treated and released, Ferdani said.
Three coaches suffered "more serious injuries," he said.
A spokesman for Denver Health Medical Center told NBC News that it was treating five patients, two of them in critical condition. Five more were listed in fair condition at Children's Hospital Colorado, a spokeswoman told NBC News.
The driver, a woman who wasn't identified, was killed, Denver police Sgt. Michael W. Farr said.
A school bus crashed Sunday at Denver International Airport. Denver Police Department
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. Heath Montgomery, a spokesman for the airport, said the bus had been approaching the passenger arrivals section on the fourth level of the east terminal about 4 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) when it veered into a support bridge for an upper level.
A school bus crashed Sunday at Denver International Airport. Denver Police Department
Farr said that the driver's route was "curious" and that she "should not have been coming back up, but she did."
The school district said a crisis response team will be at Legacy High School on Monday "supporting staff and students."
In a Facebook post Sunday night, the school's student government said: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the legacy football team, coaches, and families."