Byhalia, MS : 2 dead, 44 hurt in Miss. bus crash on Wednesday, 14th November 2018

An Alabama tour bus bound for a Mississippi casino overturned Wednesday on an icy highway, leaving two people dead and 44 others aboard with injuries, authorities said, as a pre-winter storm blasted parts of the South and lower Midwest.

The National Weather Service says snow and ice fell during the day across parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. Snow and ice are predicted Thursday and Friday for areas ranging from Ohio and the Appalachian Mountains through Washington, D.C., New York and New England from the storm barreling toward the Northeast.

Witnesses told Mississippi investigators that the bus driver lost control after crossing an icy overpass and the bus rolled over on its driver’s side, coming to rest in median of Interstate 269 in Byhalia around 12:35 p.m., said Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Capt. Johnny Poulos. That Mississippi town is about 35 miles southeast of downtown Memphis, Tennessee.


Killed were 70-year-old Betty Russell and 61-year-old Cynthia Hardin, both of Huntsville, Alabama, said DeSoto County Coroner Joshua Pounders. The injured were taken to Memphis-area hospitals, with at least three listed in serious condition Wednesday evening. Officials said the group was bound from Huntsville, Alabama, to gamble at a casino in Mississippi’s Tunica County, about 40 miles to the west.

The red tour bus with white and gray stripes was later towed from the crash site, its windows mostly missing and a smell of gasoline lingering in the air. Large scratches and other damage were visible on the driver’s side.

Poulos said investigators hadn’t yet concluded how fast the bus was traveling. He said because the road was icy, investigators have no skid marks to evaluate as part of their investigation.

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