Site of fatal school bus crash had prior accidents, safety concerns
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The site of a fatal crash involving a school bus carrying preschoolers -- which killed a young child and an adult — had nearly 130 crashes since the start of 2022, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation.
KXAN has reported on safety concerns with State Highway 21 before. In 2017, we found eight deaths and more than 400 crashes over a six-year period — just a few miles west of where Friday's deadly bus accident occurred. At the time, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials said they would widen the road, lower the speed limit and add stop lights.
But many viewers on Facebook are commenting about what they say are ongoing concerns with speed and reckless driving in the area:
- "[T]hat road is so dangerous!," one person wrote on KXAN's Facebook page. "Drivers are always passing other drivers up in the oncoming lanes."
- "People need to SLOW DOWN HERE," another person echoed, "that's why people die."
- "Hwy 21 is a very fast road to travel on," said another. "I avoid that road at all possible when traveling to Bastrop from Kyle. Way too many accidents on that road."
- "They need to do something about this area!!," another viewer commented. "It's always on the news, the devastating wrecks that happen that way is just beyond ridiculous!"
KXAN Investigates analyzed data from TxDOT's Crash Records Information System, collected from the 7.5 mile stretch of State Highway 21 between State Highway 130 and Farm-to-Market 812, from Jan. 1, 2022 until Friday, March 22. We found:
- At least 128 crashes on this stretch of SH 21.
- In four of the accidents, someone died.
- Five crashes involved buses.
The incidents involving buses involved at least three school buses:
- Feb. 28, 2023: Yellow school bus
- Oct. 10, 2022: Yellow school bus
- Sept. 15, 2022: Yellow school bus
- May 6, 2022: Bus type unknown
- April 1, 2022: Bus type unknown
Over a two-decade period starting in 2017 and running through 2037, traffic on Highway 21 from San Marcos to Bastrop is set to increase by nearly 40 percent, according to a TxDOT document.