In Houston, Texas, a school bus that was ferrying students to Furr High School swerved to avoid another car an ended up driving off a highway overpass. Witnesses say the bus did a nose dive and flipped before landing on it’s side along the embankment below. Two students were killed in the accident: a 17-year-old girl died at the scene, and a 13-year-old girl died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. Two other students and the driver were hospitalized with serious injuries. Thankfully, there were only those four students on the bus at the time, or this accident could have been much worse.

The accident happened Tuesday on the south loop of I-610 around 7 am. The Houston police department says that a teacher, ironically, was driving in the lane to the left of the school bus, when she thought another car to the left of her was going to drift into her lane. “Apparently . . . she jerked the wheel to the right,” say department spokesperson Victor Senties. “She in turn, ends up striking the left driver’s side of the school bus.” ¹  The bus driver, Louisa Pacheco, tried to avoid the car, over corrected, and ended up on the frontage road below.

This accident is a perfect example of how interconnected we all really are, and that careless actions can have a ripple effect that can lead to disastrous consequences.  Remember this the next time you’re in a hurry and are tempted to weave in and out of traffic, or when you feel like reach for your cell phone.

1. USA Today, September 16, 2015, p. 3A