Horry County Fire Rescue and Horry County Police crews responded to an overturned bus on Friday.
A tweet from the department says crews responded to the intersection of Green Sea Road and W. Highway 9 Bypass for an overturned bus with multiple injuries around 1:15 p.m.
Another tweet from the department says the crash involved two cars and the bus. 17 people sustained injuries in the crash. Three have critical injuries, three have serious injuries, and nine have minor injuries. Two others refused treatment. This tweet also says eight ambulances and four fire trucks responded.
Mark Nugent, the Public Information Officer for Horry County Fire Rescue, says 11 teenaged kids and two adults were on the bus and a child was extricated from the bus.
Of the three critical patients, one was in the other cars involved, one was a child on the bus, and one was an adult on the bus, according to Nugent. Over 40 first responders were on the scene of the crash.
Nugent also says he doesn’t know how the bus flipped or if anyone was wearing seatbelts.
Cpl. Sonny Collins, with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, says the bus was traveling north on Highway 410. The bus failed to stop for a stop sign and was struck by a pickup truck traveling on Highway 9. Another car was at the stop sign at the intersection and was hit, but Collins couldn’t confirm if the car was hit by the truck or the bus. He also says the patients were transported to Grand Strand Medical Center, Conway Medical Center, and McLeod Loris Hospital.
Conway Medical Center spokesperson Julia Billington says the hospital has received four patients from the crash. One patient is from the bus and 3 are from the other vehicles. She didn’t comment on the conditions of these patients.
Julie Kopnicky Tyre, of Grand Strand Medical Center, says in a press release nine children and one adult are being treated at the hospital. ““We have an extraordinary trauma team available 24 hours a day to provide excellent care for our residents and visitors,” said Trauma Medical Director Dr. Antonio Pepe. “We are honored to provide this type of high-level care for Horry County, surrounding communities and those who visit our region.”
Grand Strand Medical Center is the only level one adult and level two pediatric trauma center for Horry County and the surrounding region, according to Tyre. GSMC is working with the American Red Cross to provide assistance for the families impacted by the crash.
The bus is from Ridge Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia and an online church calendar says the group planned to return home Friday after a missions trip to Myrtle Beach.
