St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin died Sunday morning after the charter bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, television station WWLTV of New Orleans reported, citing police and parish President Natalie Robottom.

Two other firefighters were injured in the crash and a second person, who has not yet been identified, also died, the television station said.

"It is a sad day in the St. John the Baptist Parish as we lost one of the bravest and most dedicated firefighters that I know," Robottom said in a statement according to the television station.

The bus driver, identified as 37-year-old Denis Amaya Rodriguez, was in custody on suspicion of multiple violations, NBC News reported, citing Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey. Rodriguez, who is from Honduras, was in the U.S. illegally, the network reported, citing Matey.

Few details were available Sunday afternoon about the cause of the accident. Matey told NBC that 41 people on the bus suffered minor injuries.

A local ambulance company said on Twitter it had transported 38 people to hospitals from the scene of the accident on Interstate 10 near the community of Laplace, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of New Orleans. The company, Acadian Ambulance Service, said that a second ambulance company had transported three additional people to hospitals.

The bus, filled with volunteers to help residents recover from massive flooding in Louisiana earlier this month, was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 when it crashed into the fire truck and another vehicle, the television station and other media reported.

As many as 60,600 homes were reported damaged or destroyed in flooding that ravaged 20 parishes, or counties, in the southern part of Louisiana. About 3,000 residents were still living in shelters as of Aug. 22, officials said last week. </s> (Reuters) - A bus with an unlicensed driver spun out of control near New Orleans on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 41, while taking volunteers to help with Louisiana flood relief, officials said.

A private rental bus involved in a multiple car accident which killed two people is seen in a picture released by the Louisiana State Police. Louisiana State Police/Handout via Reuters

St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference.

Two other firefighters were injured in the crash, one critically, and a passenger in another vehicle struck by the bus died at the scene, the spokeswoman said.

The driver, who was unauthorized to drive a commercial vehicle, was in custody and would be booked on suspicion of negligent homicide, reckless driving and driving without a license, Matey said.

“All three firemen were thrown over the guard rail and into the water below,” Matey said.

The incident started when a speeding pickup truck spun out of control, bouncing from one side of the road to the other before coming to rest along the right lane and shoulder of Interstate 10 near the community of Laplace, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of New Orleans, Matey said.

The firefighters and state police troopers were on scene to investigate when the bus, also out of control, slammed into the fire truck and a Toyota Camry, Matey said. Jermaine Starr, a passenger in the Camry, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was not immediately clear why the bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, lost control.

Rodriguez, who is from Honduras, was in the United States illegally and Homeland Security officials are assisting the state in its investigation, Matey said.

The Acadian Ambulance Service said on Twitter it had taken 38 people to hospitals and that a second ambulance company had transported three to hospitals.

Matey said at the news conference that most of the injuries to the 24 people on the bus were minor to moderate.

The bus, filled with volunteers to help residents recover from massive flooding in Louisiana earlier this month, was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 when it crashed into the fire truck and another vehicle, the television station and other media reported.

As many as 60,600 homes were reported damaged or destroyed in flooding that ravaged 20 parishes, or counties, in the southern part of Louisiana. About 3,000 residents were still living in shelters as of Aug. 22, officials said last week. </s> NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana State Police say an out-of-control bus carrying flood recovery volunteers hit a fire truck and firefighters who had responded to an earlier wreck, killing two people and injuring dozens.

Trooper Melissa Matey told NOLA.com ' The Times-Picayune (http://bit.ly/2bKiYW8 ) that the bus driver did not have a commercial license and was not authorized to drive a bus.

Matey tells local news media that the dead included a local fire chief and the injured included the 30 to 40 people on the bus.

She described them as volunteers heading from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to help flood victims. </s> (CNN) An undocumented immigrant was piloting a charter bus that he wasn't licensed to drive when it crashed Sunday morning in Louisiana, killing two people and injuring dozens, police said.

The bus was full of workers headed to Baton Rouge on Interstate 10 to help with flood cleanup, said Louisiana State Police Trooper Melissa Matey.

The driver was Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, Matey said.

One of those killed was St. John the Baptist Parish Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin, Matey said.

The wreck happened at 6:40 a.m when the black charter bus came up on a blocked crash scene on Interstate 10 where Chauvin and two firefighters were assisting at a minor accident near LaPlace, Louisiana, west of New Orleans by Lake Pontchartrain.

"The bus driver lost control of the bus, struck a fire truck, veered across the right lane, striking other vehicles, then veered and struck three firefighters, who, all three, were thrown over the guardrail," Matey said.

While the bus was transporting workers, it was a party bus belonging to Kristina's Transportation LLC/AM Party Bus out of Jefferson, Louisiana, Matey said.

Police are still investigating the crash, she said.

Police gave this account: Chauvin, 36 of Gramercy, was standing with two firefighters by the interstate guardrail after responding to a crash early that morning. The firefighters had used one of their trucks to block the right lane of the interstate so they, police and the towing company could deal with the crash. A state trooper had his patrol car parked with blue lights flashing to warn early morning drivers. At least two other cars -- a Toyota Camry and a Chevrolet Silverado -- were stopped behind the emergency vehicles.

As the 2002 Eldorado National bus, which was speeding, approached the crash scene, it clipped the fire truck, police said.

The bus then struck the rear of the Camry, shoving it into the rear of the Silverado and a flatbed trailer.

The bus then veered and struck all three firefighters, hurling them into water about 35-feet below, police said.

Donna Vicknair, a longtime employee with the St. John the Baptist Parish, said Chauvin comes from a firefighting family. His father, Ivy "Sonny" Chauvin, is a retired fire chief and both his brothers work as firefighters.

Vicknair said Chauvin was a volunteer until 2004, when the department went from volunteer to full time and he chose to make firefighting his career. He was married and leaves behind two young children, a boy and a girl.

"He will be missed a whole lot around here," she said. "I will always remember Chief Chauvin as a good person."

One of Chauvin's brothers, Lance Chauvin, posted his thoughts on his Facebook page: "Never in my life did I expect to lose my brother. Everyone knows how dangerous our job is. We know how dangerous our job is. He gave his life to make other people's lives better. He was doing what he loved. Maybe one day I'll be half the man you are. Fly High Spencer."

The other person killed, Jermaine Starr, 21, of Moss Point, Mississippi, was in the backseat of the Camry, police said.

Firefighter William Mack Beal, 35, of Gonzales, was taken to a local hospital with moderate injuries, and firefighter Nicholas Saale, 32, of Ponchatoula, was airlifted to New Orleans with critical injuries, police said.

"This is a very sad day for all first responders in Louisiana," said Col. Mike Edmonson, Louisiana State Police superintendent. "Louisiana has the 'move over' law in place to protect our first responders on our roadways. Please adhere to this law and slow down when approaching emergency vehicles and disabled vehicles on the road."

The Camry driver, Marcus Tate, 35 of Moss Point, was airlifted to Baton Rouge with serious injuries.

Two of his passengers, Vontravous Kelly and David Jones, both of Moss Point, were hospitalized. Kelly is in critical condition and Jones is in serious condition, police said.

The Silverado contained three adults and two children, all of Kenner, Louisiana, who were taken to local hospitals with minor or moderate injuries, as were at least 24 passengers on the bus, police said.

Police initially reported 35-40 people were on the bus and authorities are still trying to identify all the victims, who are at various hospitals, Matey said.

It's not known who chartered the bus, she said.

The road was wet from light rain, but troopers who are investigating the crash don't know if weather was the main cause of the accident, Matey said.

Rodriguez, who was also treated at a hospital, will be booked into the St. John the Baptist Correctional Center and charged with two counts of negligent homicide, reckless operation, and having no driver's license, Matey said. </s> UPDATE AT 4:43 P.M. – Witnesses on the scene tell WKRG that the bus appeared to be stuck on the tracks. Austin Dominey told Alison Spann, “The bus in front of us was stopped and I was wondering why is it stopped? There’s a train coming. It looked like he had bottomed out at the top of that hill. When he was starting to back up that’s when the train collided into him and he went almost two blocks down the road with the train.”

UPDATE AT 4:10 P.M. – Officials in Biloxi tell News 5 in a press conference that four people died in the train and bus collision this afternoon. We have also learned from television station KXAN in Texas that the charter bus originated from the Austin area according to law enforcement officials.

UPDATE at 4:00 P.M. – CSX says three people died when a train and charter bus collided. Below is the statement from CSX:

“CSX personnel are working with first responders at a collision of a freight train and passenger bus in Biloxi, Miss. The collision this afternoon occurred at the Main Street crossing. The eastbound mixed freight train, traveling from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., had three locomotives and 52 cars – 27 loaded cars and 25 empty cars. The crossing has flashing lights and crossing gates. Authorities in Biloxi report three fatalities and many injuries, and our thoughts are with all involved. The train crew was not injured.”

UPDATE at 3:15 P.M. – New information from the Associated Press: A train has collided with a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries. Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash Tuesday. Creel says a CSX train headed eastbound hit the bus at a crossing in downtown Biloxi just before 2:15 p.m., pushing the bus about 300 feet down the tracks. He says a nearby hospital is setting up a triage unit at the site to treat the injured. Creel says as many as 50 people were on the bus. He said there are deaths and injuries, but he could not immediately quantify them. Charter buses often carry patrons to casinos in Biloxi, but Creel says he doesn’t know where this bus was headed.

BREAKING NEWS: Fire and rescue crews are working quickly to help passengers on a charter bus after it was hit by a train along Main Street in Biloxi. The Biloxi Police Department wants people to avoid Main Street and the area south of the railroad tracks. As you can see in the pictures taken by the Sun Herald newspaper, firefighters pulled passengers off the bus through its broken windows. Passengers are sitting in a grassy area and receiving medical treatment. News 5 has a crew on the way and we will have more updates right here on wkrg.com. First responders have set up a triage area to help the injured. </s> At least four people have died and 35 people have been injured after a train collided with a bus in Mississippi.

The tour bus was pushed 91m (300ft) along the track following the crash in Biloxi.

A total of 43 people were on the bus at the time, and three of those who lost their lives died at the scene.

It is understood the bus had been stuck on the railroad for about five or 10 minutes when the train struck – and although officials are unsure why the bus had stopped, engine failure is a possibility.

Craig Robinson, who witnessed the crash, told the Sun Herald: My first instinct was to get down there and tell people to get off the bus, but by the time I got there the train had already hit it.

Rescuers have been removing trapped passengers through emergency windows, and at least one person has been taken to hospital by air ambulance.

The tour bus had been travelling from Austin in Texas when it crashed shortly after 2pm (8pm UK time), and it is thought those on board may have been heading to one of Biloxi’s eight casinos.

Biloxi’s police chief, John Miller, said: It’s a terrible tragedy and I know there’s a lot of families that are going to be impacted.

Mayor Andrew Gilich added that it was a tragic day for the city.

CSX Transportation, which was operating the freight train, said it was travelling from New Orleans to Alabama at the time of the crash – and its train crew was not injured.

A spokesman said the train had three locomotives, and 27 of the 52 cars were loaded.

(c) Sky News 2017: Dozens injured and four killed as train hits bus in Mississippi </s> A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, dragging the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead, authorities said.The train was a CSX freight with a lot of weight up front: three engines pulling 52 rail cars, with half of them full. And dead ahead of it was a bus stuck on the tracks filled with senior citizens who had almost arrived for a casino outing.The bus from Austin, Texas was broadsided at Main Street Crossing in Biloxi, a resort town on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Mississippi.Even as some of the 43 passengers were trying to get off and save their own lives, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board headed to the scene and will take charge of the case.There were conflicting reports of the number killed in the crash. Officials initially said four people died and then revised it down to three. But Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, later said after consulting with the coroner's office that four were killed.Creel emphasized it's a "very fluid situation.""Any time you have a major incident like this, the information can change," he said.The names of the dead have not been released.Michelle Crowley of the Biloxi fire department said 40 people were injured; of those, seven were in critical condition.An eyewitness tells a chilling story of the approaching disaster."The tracks were too high to make it over. He tried to go in reverse and it wouldn't move so he tried to go forward again and it still couldn't move. Within this time frame the train was trying to stop. But the momentum was too great. When the train hit the bus - there were people that did get off - about six. There were four others that were trying to get off - those people were hit by the bus - and they were flown either under the train or underneath the bus," said Mark Robinson, a witness.Images from the scene shot the bus, upright and still intact, straddling the tracks, with the CSX train pushed up against its left side.A nearby hospital set up a triage unit at the site to treat the injured, and helicopters were carrying the injured to hospitals that handle trauma cases.The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas. A phone message and an email left for Echo were not immediately returned. The train was headed from New Orleans to Alabama.The I-Team found a posted warning at that crossing - an alert to motorists that about a dangerous ground clearance - especially so for longer vehicles. In early January, a delivery truck got stuck here, just as the bus did today. The Pepsi driver got out before a CSX train slammed into his truck. No one was hurt that day, but two months later it has happened again with fatal results.Less than three weeks ago emergency officials and rescue workers in Biloxi ran a drill to deal with this very scenario: train into truck and lots of people hurt. They had to put that training into play on Tuesday, but still ended up with four dead and dozens hurt.CSX, based in Jacksonville, Florida, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The crossing has flashing lights and crossing gates, CSX said in a statement. </s> Volunteers try to rescue an injured passenger after a bus apparently lost its brakes and plunged into a deep ravine killing dozens in Carranglan township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Beaumont Enterprise. </s> A bus driver speeding away from a fatal accident in Hawaii has led to the deaths of 34 people when the vehicle hit a group of pedestrians. The incident started when the driver of the bus mowed down two people, killing one.

"The bus first hit two pedestrians, leaving one dead and one injured," the director of the Civil Police said.

Director of the Civil Protection Authority, Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, told Agence France Presse that the driver attempted to flee from the scene and while speeding away, hit three bands of Rara musicians, Haiti street performers.

Haiti's National Ambulance Centre said that 11 people died at the scene while another nine people were declared dead after being taken to hospitals in Gros Morne and Gonaives.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the area. "The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities."

After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began throwing rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, said Albert Moulion, the Ministry of the Interior's spokesman, according to the Globe and Mail.

The horrific accident sparked a huge rescue operation attended by firefighters and ambulance crews.

The death toll is currently at 34, with 17 people sustaining injuries, according to Reuters. The accident took place early on Sunday (12 March) at the Haitian city of Gonaives, around 90 miles outside Port-au-Prince.

In the chaos after the accident and hoping to find out more news, relatives of the victims surrounded the hospitals.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. Haiti's roads are notoriously dangerous, with road safety rarely observed by drivers and other users. Hundreds of people are killed or injured every year on the roads which are in poor condition.
A bus carrying volunteers crashes into emergency vehicles responding to an earlier accident near New Orleans killing two, including the St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief, and injuring 43 more.