Tennessee woman identified as driver in deadly bus crash

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas State Police have identified a Tennessee woman as the driver of a bus that crashed off Interstate 30 near Benton on Monday, killing a child and injuring at least 45 other people.

Eula Jarrett, 65, was driving a charter bus east on I-30 when she “exited at the 111 (mile marker), left the roadway and overturned,” authorities said. The vehicle left the roadway west of Benton shortly before 2:45 a.m. and overturned, causing multiple injuries, police said.

Kameron Johnson, 9, of Memphis died in the crash. He was a third-grader in an Aspire charter school in Memphis, according to The Associated Press.

Johnson was among several players from the Tipton County Crush youth football team who were on the bus. They were part of a group of about 250 children from the Orange Mound Youth Associa-

tion in Memphis who had traveled to the Dallas area to play in an all-star tournament over the weekend.

Jarrett told Arkansas State Police investigators that she lost control of the vehicle before it rolled off the highway and tumbled down a steep embankment on a sharp bend on an off-ramp. The road was dry and the weather conditions were clear, according to the fatal crash summary.

Bill Sadler, an Arkansas State Police spokesman, said investigations by the Highway Patrol Division and a reconstruction team remain open and active.

“Preliminarily, both investigations indicate the driver lost control of the vehicle that eventually left the roadway and overturned,” Sadler said. The injured were taken to hospitals in Little Rock and Benton. Hilary DeMillo, a media relations manager for Arkansas Children’s Health Systems, said that four of the 26 people taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital — all between the ages of 9 and 13 — remained there Tuesday in stable condition. The other 22 were released by Monday afternoon.

All are expected to recover fully, said Todd Maxson, the facility’s the surgeon in chief and trauma medical director

One adult patient who was taken to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock remained there Tuesday, but a hospital spokesman wouldn’t provide further details, citing privacy laws.

Rebecca Jones, a spokesman for Saline Memorial Hospital, said the 13 adults and children treated at the Benton facility were discharged by Monday afternoon. They were treated for cuts, bruises and other minor injuries.

The bus carry the team is owned by Scott Shuttle Service of Somerville, Tenn.

Scott Shuttle Service has seven drivers and operates five buses, according to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency responsible for oversight of commercial vehicles across the United States.

The company’s federal safety records, which were available online, showed four inspections, a violation and one crash in the span of two years. The accident occurred in Jackson, Tenn., and involved a 15-seat bus and another vehicle, but the driver didn’t receive a citation.

Scott Shuttle Service had a “satisfactory” rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the agency conducted a compliance review in May. The review showed that the company had allowed a driver to operate a vehicle without proper licensing

Attempts to reach Scott Shuttle Service on Tuesday were unsuccessful.