By: Sabrina Ahmed
sahmed@klkntv.com
The Blue Hill community has come together after an accident last night that killed four people.
"It's a tremendous sense of loss you know, to have to go through this situation," said Bill Hill Superintendent, Joe'l Ruybalie.
On its regular route yesterday, a school bus collides with a tractor trailer, killing two children riding on the bus, the bus driver and the truck driver.
The students, 18-year-old Dustin Tesdahl and 10-year-old Caroline Thallman. The bus driver was 59-year-old Maria Wentworth of Red Cloud. The truck driver was 21-year-old Travis Witte of Blue Hill.
The mother of Travis says he was eager, ready to be a farmer and take his dad's place. This is a tough loss for them all. The County Attorney says the crash is still under investigation and the cause is unknown.
It happened south of Blue HIll, which is 30 miles south of Hastings. Today, school was still held and buses ran on schedule. The superintendent of Blue Hill schools says the crisis team is there to help the students cope.
"Everyone is kind of tied together in a community this size so everyone is affected. Everyone has a stake in the community in the school and unfortunately, the families who are grieving. Everyone in the community grieves with them," said Superintendent Ruybalie.
Now, the community has come together to help the families and everyone affected to get through it. "So really just trying to figure out the best thing there is to do and then moving forward and making sure we're sensitive."
Five other students were injured. Two have been released from the hospital, two are in stable condition. A seven-year-old girl was flown to Omaha and is in serious condition.
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Travis Witte
Dustin Tesdahl
