All 25 People Hurt When Salem High School’s Football Bus Overturned Near I-20 Have Now Left the Hospital, Rockdale County Schools Says

Rockdale County Public Schools said Sunday that every student and adult hospitalized after Friday night’s Salem High School football bus crash has been released and gone home. The update closed out a weekend in which 25 passengers were treated at hospitals across metro Atlanta, one of them after a helicopter flight to a trauma center.

The district said it was its final public briefing on the patients’ medical status. The Georgia State Patrol is still investigating why the bus left the road.

Sunday’s Word From the District

Officials confirmed on Oct. 25 that all of the hospitalized players, trainers and staff had been discharged, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. District spokesperson Cindy Ball said grief and crisis counselors would remain at the school. “Additional counselors will be on campus at Salem High School to support students and staff for as long as needed,” Ball said.

The recovery moved quickly. By Saturday, 24 of the 25 injured had been treated and released, and one student remained in the hospital, according to FOX 5’s earlier report. The district has not identified that student or described the student’s injuries, and it has said it will not release names or further medical details to protect student privacy.

That decision means families outside the team have only the district’s summary to go on. Officials have not described the nature of any of the injuries, from the student who was flown to a trauma center to those who were checked and released the same night.

Salem High’s own school website includes a counseling section where families can request an appointment with the school’s counseling team.

Who Was on the Bus

According to the district’s first statement, the bus carried 27 people: 17 players, seven trainers, two coaches and the driver. It was returning from an away game against Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, WSB-TV reported.

Twenty-two students and three staff members went to several hospitals, the station reported. They were treated at Arthur Blank Children’s Hospital, Scottish Rite, Grady Memorial, Piedmont Rockdale, Piedmont Walton and Piedmont Newton. Some students were taken by ambulance, and some were driven by their parents. One student was flown out by Life Flight helicopter; the district later said that student had also been released.

Superintendent Stephanie Johnson said the district was “deeply grateful that there were no fatalities,” and that the cause of the crash “remains under investigation,” WSB-TV reported.

What the State Patrol Says Happened

The crash happened shortly before 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, where Highway 138 meets Interstate 20 in Conyers. According to the Georgia State Patrol’s preliminary findings, the driver was leaving eastbound Interstate 20 and trying to turn right onto Highway 138 when he lost control.

The bus crossed both directions of Highway 138, struck a Kia Soul, spun around and overturned on the shoulder, coming to rest on its side in a roadside ditch. WSB-TV identified the bus driver as Walter Hackett, 74, of Conyers, and the driver of the Kia as Calvin Harling, 35, of Covington. Both men were taken to the hospital. The reports did not say whether anyone else was riding in the Kia.

Investigators have not said what caused the driver to lose control, and authorities have not said whether any citations or charges will follow, FOX 5 reported. The patrol’s findings so far are preliminary, and troopers are still examining why the bus left the roadway.

What Federal Data Shows About School Bus Safety

Deaths aboard school buses are uncommon. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s school bus safety page calls the school bus one of the safest vehicles on the road and says fewer than 1% of all traffic fatalities involve children on school transportation vehicles. From 2015 through 2024, 119 occupants of school transportation vehicles died nationwide, 49 drivers and 70 passengers. Deaths in school-transportation-related crashes fell 14%, from 128 in 2023 to 110 in 2024.

NHTSA says large school buses protect riders through compartmentalization: closely spaced seats with energy-absorbing seat backs that absorb crash forces. Because large buses are heavier than passenger cars and distribute crash forces differently, occupants experience much less crash force. The agency sets federal minimum safety standards for school buses that exceed those for regular buses, including rollover protection and high crush standards, along with flashing red lights, cross-view mirrors and stop-arms. Smaller buses, those with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, must have lap or lap-and-shoulder belts at every seat.

The agency notes that children are actually at greater risk when they are boarding or leaving a bus than when they are riding in one.

For the Salem High community, the weekend’s news ended where families had hoped it would, with every player, trainer and coach back home and counselors standing by at the school.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: QUOI Media Group – CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons