Eighth Grader Killed in S.C. School Bus Tire Blowout, Crash

April 18, 2025

A Lexington 2 School District school bus lays on its side April 17, 2025, after a tire blowout resulted in the driver losing control of the vehicle. It struck the guardrail and overturned, killing a 13-year-old student. Photo courtesy of Mike Bullman, South Carolina Department of Education. — A Lexington 2 School District school bus lays on its side April 17, 2025, after a tire blowout resulted in the bus driver losing control of the vehicle. It struck the guardrail and overturned, killing a 13-year-old student. Photo courtesy of Mike Bullman, South Carolina Department of Education.

A 13-year-old South Carolina middle school student is the first reported school bus passenger death of the 2024-2025 school year, based upon School Transportation News research.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol stated that at 1:45 p.m. Thursday, a 2021 Blue Bird school bus was traveling southbound on Interstate 77 when it traveled off the road to the right, struck a guardrail and overturned.

According to a statement from the Lexington School District 2, three school buses were transporting students home from a field trip just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. A tire blew out on one of the school buses, causing the crash. That school bus was carrying three adults and 35 students, 21 of whom were injured, and one was killed.

Several of the injuries are reportedly “critical” but limited information was available at this report. According to local media outlets, the Chester County Coroner’s Office identified Jose Marie Gonzales Linares, an eighth grader at Pine Ridge Middle School, as the victim killed. STN reached out to the coroner’s office for more information but had yet to hear back at this writing.

An update to the district’s statement Friday noted a total of 35 students and four adults were taken to the hospital for medical evaluation, including a few passengers from the other two buses in the caravan. While those buses were not involved in the crash, they reportedly maneuvered around the overturned bus.

“A reunification site was set up nearby at Exit 48 for Pine Ridge Middle School families,” the school district stated. “Riders on all three buses cleared by EMS after a medical evaluation were taken to the reunification site for pickup.”

No information on how Linares died was provided at this report. The crash remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The incident has ignited increased conversations about equipping school buses with seatbelts. Currently, seven states require three-point, lap/shoulder seatbelts in school buses. South Carolina is not one of those states.