‘The logs were bouncing everywhere:’ Victim describes what she saw in bus-log truck accident

Published 10:07 pm Thursday, November 30, 2023

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Three Troup County School Systems were on a school bus when it was involved in a wreck with a log truck on Thursday on Pegasus Parkway. Two of the students were taken to the hospital as a precaution, according to a press release from the TCSS. Logs were strewn across the roadway following the accident.

Initially, TCSS called the incident “minor” in a press release but later reversed course and described it as a “major” incident. 

Kathy Kirby, who teaches at Troup High School, was also involved in the accident in her personal vehicle. Her vehicle was overrun by logs falling from the truck, breaking in her front grill and lifting the vehicle inches off the ground. Kirby suffered minor injuries and was seen at urgent care following the accident. 

“I saw a truck start to wobble at one point, and a school bus came across the intersection of West Point Road,” Kirby said. “The truck started overturning and then at that point, I stopped watching because I was the next victim.”

Kirby was thankful it wasn’t much worse.

“They were just minor injuries, but I was very fortunate that none of the logs bounced up into the windshield,” Kirby said. “The logs were bouncing everywhere, and they were at my eye level.”

Kirby said she will be on a brief hiatus from her duties as a teacher to recover from the crash and to tend to her injuries. However, she will be forced to find an alternate mode of transportation due to the incident totaling her vehicle. 

“My car had to be towed away,” Kirby said. “So what I’ll be doing tomorrow is trying to figure out my next ride.”

Amidst the stress of the incident, Kirby was still able to remain positive, showing gratitude to the bus driver whose quick actions minimized the severity of the crash. 

“She made good choices and good decisions while she was dealing with that,” Kirby said “I don’t know who she was, but bravo to her because she saved all of us.”

Georgia State Patrol officials is investigating the incident.