All students and adults involved in Friday night's Salem High School football bus crash have been released from the hospital, Rockdale County Public Schools said Sunday.
Additional counselors will be at Salem High School to support students and staff for as long as needed, the district said.
The bus was carrying 17 players, seven trainers, two coaches and a driver when it crashed on State Route 138 near Interstate 20. One student was airlifted from the scene.
Georgia State Patrol said troopers were called to investigate around 10:45 p.m. Friday. The bus was returning to Salem High School and exiting I-20 eastbound when the driver attempted to turn right onto State Route 138.
The 74-year-old driver, Walter Hackett, of Conyers, lost control, crossed both directions of traffic and struck a Kia Soul in a northbound lane, according to state patrol.
The bus then left the road, rolled and came to rest on its passenger side. Hackett and the 35-year-old Kia driver, Calvin Harling, of Covington, were also taken to hospitals, state patrol said.
Jessica Johnson said she saw ambulances pulling up and police and fire trucks on the scene when she picked up her son, Kari, a freshman football player.
She said that she spotted children on the ground crying and grabbing their legs.
"I kept my son home from school today because those images and thoughts are still playing in his mind," Johnson told CBS News Atlanta.
"I was kind of shocked because I guess I haven't seen this before, so I was really just worried about my teammates, cause I see my teammates jumping out the window to try to get safe and the other ones that were still in there," Kari Johnson said. "Especially seeing people just lying on the ground motionless, cause I really did think they were dead. Like, I was looking at everybody, and I was just like … there was just a lot going through my mind."
Investigators have not said what caused the bus driver to lose control. State patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division are assisting with the ongoing investigation.
"We are grateful to the first responders, medical professionals, and school and district staff members who cared for our students and adults," Rockdale County Public Schools said.
Atlanta-area attorney Matt Wheterington said it's important for the public to wait until the investigation is finished before coming to any conclusions about the crash.
"We've done a number of bus crashes, and, generally, they come in two forms. Either they're going to be a mechanical problem, so like the tires fail, or there's something wrong with the vehicle itself. Other times, it's because of the driver, you know, either the driver's unqualified, has made a mistake behind the wheel, or just shouldn't have been behind the wheel for any reason."
