5-year-old killed, others injured after Georgia school bus crashes into tree

A 5-year-old girl was killed and other students taken to a hospital Tuesday morning after a Georgia school bus crashed into a tree.

The accident happened about 7 a.m. along Highway 196 and Hiram Ray Road near Gumbranch in Liberty County. The bus was headed to Taylor’s Creek Elementary School in Hinesville.

The Georgia State Patrol was investigating and said the crash involved no other vehicles. The agency said in a news release the bus driver had lost control, veered into a ditch and slammed into a tree. The impact caused the bus roof to cave in on the young passengers.

It’s too soon for investigators to know if the 62-year-old driver, who also was hospitalized, will face any charges, said Lt. Thornell King of the Georgia State Patrol. King said video from a security camera on the bus showed her struggling with the gear shift right before the crash.

The driver reportedly sustained serious injuries.

She was taken to a Savannah hospital after being freed by emergency responders. Her condition wasn’t known immediately, but King said she had been conscious and talking with school officials.

King identified the girl killed in the crash as 5-year-old Cambria Shuman. He said the girl had been sitting in one of the front-row passenger seats.

Liberty County Public Safety Director Mike Hodges told the Associated Press that more than 20 children were riding the bus when it crashed.

Winn Army Community Hospital posted on its Facebook page that 13 students injured in the crash were examined in the hospital’s emergency room and discharged by midday Tuesday.

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 9:44 AM with the headline "5-year-old killed, others injured after Georgia school bus crashes into tree."