Texas Department of Public safety spokesman Charlie Morgan said the accident happened between 9:30 and 10 a.m. when the bus was traveling in the right northbound lane of the interstate and lost control. It then crossed the center median and hit another vehicle, he said.
Five on those killed were on the bus. Two people in the other vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe, were also killed, according to Tribune-Herald staff reports. One passenger in the Tahoe survived the accident.
After the accident, both sides of the interstate were at least partially closed, with traffic being snarled for miles. Rescue crews from as far south as Round Rock and as far north as West responded to the scene, setting up a makeshift tent to serve as a triage area. At least one injured person was flown out by helicopter.
The impact of the wreck caused the bus to completely spin around, with it ending up on its right side, facing the southbound. The vehicle hitby the bus was smashed so badly as to be unrecognizable. It came to a stop crunched between the bus and a concrete culvert. A disabled veteran notation was visible on the license plate.
Traffic on I-35 was closed after the accident on the southbound side from the Farm-to-Market Road 2063, or the Hewitt exit, to Exit 323 in Lorena, said Ken Roberts, a Texas Department of Transportation spokesman.
By 2:30 p.m., one of the southbound lanes had been reopened, Roberts said. Traffic was backed up several miles in the southbound lanes all the way to Valley Mills Drive in Waco.
He said the northbound lanes are open but are moving slowly because of people slowing down to look at the scene.
Police radio traffic indicated that the Amber Alert system was being activated to notify traffic by the flashing signs in Hillsboro that part of the interstate is shut down in McLennan County.
The bus is owned by Central Texas Trails Inc. of Waco, said a company spokeswoman who declined to give her name. She said the bus was chartered on a day trip from Temple to Dallas.
The bus passengers were part of a group from Memorial Baptist Church in Temple. A spokeswoman from the church said the group was headed to a gospel concert in Dallas.
Six men and six women were being treated at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center Friday. Two patients were were in "fairly serious" condition, a hospital employee said. Three more patients were expected for treatment. Patty Hawk, a spokeswoman for Providence Health Center in Waco, said 18 had been received for treatment. All were in stable condition.
Family members who want more information can call Hillcrest's man switchboard at (254) 202-2000 or the pastoral care department at (254) 202-8644.
The DPS said that one and possibly two bodies remained under the bus.
Sue White said she was traveling south toward Hewitt on the I-35 frontage road when she saw the accident happen about 10-20 feet from her vehicle. She stopped and ran toward the accident scene, where she saw bodies lying along the road.
One of the victims was an elderly woman, White said. Her husband was searching for her, saying how excited she was to be going to the concert. She had even had her hair done for the special occasion.
As White surveyed the scene, she said there was blood everywhere, especially on the side of the bus. Two people were trapped underneath, with body parts visible, she said.
White said she called her son, who is an emergency medical technician but was not working. He arrived at the scene soon afterwords and was the first emergency worker inside the bus, she said.
Passenger Don Bledsoe, 73, escaped from the wreckage without a scratch.
He said he had been sitting in the front of the bus but was in the restroom at the rear when the crash occurred.
"I felt (the driver) swerve," Bledsoe said. "We lost control and the bus was lying down."
Bledsoe fell on his right shoulder and soon found himself trapped. The woman who had been sitting directly in front of him in the bus was severely injured, he said.
Dazed but calm, Bledsoe was among dozens of people who had gathered at the Temple church about 1 p.m. He said he was not a member of Memorial Baptist and knew few fellow passengers.
Bledsoe said he was trapped inside the bus restroom for at least 30 minutes. The door was jammed and he kicked and yelled for help. He said he could hear rescue efforts going on around him and was reassured to know that the injured were receiving medical care.
Finally, a rescuer opened the restroom door with a crowbar and Bledsoe was pulled through a skylight.
By noon, nearly two dozen family members had gathered in a small chapel at Memorial Baptist in Temple to await word on their relatives. A church deacon, Dick Stafford, told the crowd the names of two church members who had died in the crash.
Gospel singer Bill Gaither, reached backstage before his 1 p.m. concert at Reunion Arena at Dallas, expressed sadness at the news of the tragedy.
"I'd like to say to those people in the Temple area that our love and our prayers are with them," he said. "We hope that the theology of the songs that we have sung for 40 years make sense at a time when life doesn't make sense."
Gaither said he would share news of the bus accident with the audience at his Friday afternoon concert.
He noted it wasn't the first time that he and his family had performed in concert after news of a tragic death. "It's hard to go on when the community of faith is aching, but . . . that's our job, to sing about hope."
Officer Steve Anderson, a Waco Police Department spokesman, said 14 officers
