A New Orleans-area car crash left three children and one adult dead at the intersection of Louisiana Highway and Highway 90 on Saturday.
According to a report from Nola, a Sports Utility Vehicle smashed head first into a Lafayette Parish school bus this weekend, leaving a fifth person with moderate injuries.
36-year-old Ladonna Cheatham was reportedly in her 2004 Kia Sorrento at about 11:40 in the morning on Highway 90. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Amy Dore drove the Lafayette High School baseball team in the Parish automobile.
Cheatham, who was headed west, suddenly lost control of her vehicle. Police said her left back tire failed, causing the SUV to veer off the road, cross the center divider and hit the bus.
Cheatham didn't have a seat belt on, and she was thrown from the vehicle. 6-year-old Destiny Cheathan, Dwayne Escort, 7, and Marcus Cheatham, 16, weren't wearing safety belts, either, and were also ejected from the car.
St. Mary Parish Coroners pronounced the four dead at the site of the accident.
But 17-year-old Mark Chatham was wearing a safety belt, and survived the collision. He was immediately transferred to a nearby medical facility.
Dore, who was wearing a seat belt, didn't sustain wounds from the crash. There were reportedly 30 children and five members of staff on board the school bus.
The group was en route to a game, Nola reported.
An investigation has been opened into the accident.
