Prestonsburg, Kentucky, bus crash
| Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | February 28, 1958 8:10 am (EDT) |
| Location | Prestonsburg, Kentucky |
| Statistics | |
| Bus | School bus |
| Vehicles | tow truck |
| Passengers | 49 |
| Deaths | 27 |
The Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster occurred on February 28, 1958, on U.S. Route 23 in Floyd County, Kentucky, when a school bus carrying 48 elementary and high school students struck the rear of a wrecker truck, causing the bus to plunge into the icy waters of the rain-swollen Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. Of the 49 people onboard (including the driver), 26 students and the bus driver were killed in the crash.
It is the third-deadliest bus crash in United States history, tied for fatalities with the Carrollton, Kentucky bus collision in 1988. The only deadlier crashes were a 1963 bus-train crash in Chualar, California and the 1976 Yuba City bus disaster, which claimed the lives of 29 people.