By: Mike Stunson
Source: The Charlotte Observer
A shuttle bus for a Christmas theme park in College Station, Texas, was involved in a fiery crash that left one person dead, the park said.
The crash happened around 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, when a bus for Santa’s Wonderland was struck by a wrong-way driver, College Station officer David Simmons said in an interview with WTAW.
Santa’s Wonderland said in a Facebook post the the wrong-way driver struck the bus near the Post Oak Mall in College Station. The park called the incident an “enormous tragedy.”
The bus was on fire when officers arrived, and the first responders helped drag the driver out, police told KBTX. Two passengers in the bus were uninjured.
Police said a tow truck driver who witnessed the crash removed a passenger from the burning SUV before it became fully engulfed in flames, according to KBTX. The passenger was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, the TV station reported.
The SUV driver, whose identity has not been publicly released, was not able to be removed, Simmons told WTAW. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Santa’s Wonderland identified the bus driver as “long-term team member” Calvin Hill. He received “very, very serious injuries” and was flown to a Houston hospital, according to Simmons.
“Our entire Santa’s Wonderland family is praying for Calvin,” the theme park said. “We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the first responders on the scene.”
Hill is also a track and field and football coach at Rudder High School in Bryan, Texas, KBTX reported. In a social media post Sunday, the school thanked “everyone for their prayers and support” for the coach.
Santa’s Wonderland is described as “the biggest Christmas attraction in the state of Texas.” Shuttles take visitors from an off-site parking lot to the park.
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