By: Christine Souders
csouders@cbs4qc.com
Three people are dead after a car hit a Louisa County school bus head on Thursday morning.
Katherine Newton, 78, Barbara Higgs, 75, and Mark Kaltefleiter, 50, all from Burlington, were driving on Highway 61 in Letts, Iowa, near Louisa Muscatine High School around 7am Thursday morning.
That's when state police said the car lost control on an icy patch, crossed the center line, and crashed into the bus.
Superintendent Mike Van Sickle said he dialed 911 after the bus driver, Seth Singleton, 35, called saying a car hit the bus.
"He hit the brakes as well as he could, but there was nothing he could really do," said Van Sickle.
Since he was just leaving for his morning route, there were no kids on the bus yet.
Singleton was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, but all three people in the vehicle died in the crash.
Sergeant Jose Varela was one of the first to arrive on scene, only half a mile from the high school.
"The way the damage to the vehicle was unique to the point where obviously it was traumatic enough that it cost someone their life," said Varela.
Varela said Iowa State Patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident, but he believes it happened because of the icy road conditions.
"When you have the difference in size between a sedan and a bus it's going to cause some serious damage."
The school's superintendent said he's sorry for the families who lost loved ones, and is grateful no students were injured.
Singleton has been released from the hospital with no injuries.
UPDATE:
by Mike Colón
mcolon@cbs4qc.com
Three people killed in a crash with a school bus have been identified.
The accident happened around 7:20 Thursday morning on Highway 61 just south of L & M High School. A Nissan Sentra driven by 78 year old Katherine Newton lost control on the icy road, crossed the center line, and hit a school bus driven by Seth Singleton of Wapello.
Newton was killed, along with passengers Barbara Higgs, 75, and Mark Kaltefleiter, 50. All three victims were from Burlington.
The bus driver was taken to Trinity Muscatine for treatment.
The school bus had just left to make its rounds and no students were on it at the time of the accident.
