ATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on the crash of a church bus in Georgia (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
Authorities in Georgia say nine people remain hospitalized for injuries caused by the deadly crash of a church bus.
One person was killed in Thursday’s crash. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 17-year-old girl killed as Sarah Harmening of Huntsville, Alabama.
Fulton County Deputy Police Chief Darryl Halbert says the crash investigation is continuing and he couldn’t discuss possible charges on Friday afternoon. Halbert says police haven’t yet spoken to the driver who remains hospitalized.
Police say none of those hospitalized have life-threatening injuries.
The Mount Zion Baptist Church bus was headed for the Atlanta airport for a mission trip to Africa when it crashed with nearly 40 teenagers and adults aboard.
Investigators believe the bus driver tried to change lanes, collided with another vehicle then lost control.
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11:45 a.m.
Georgia authorities say the deadly crash of a church bus began when the driver attempted to change lanes and collided with another vehicle.
Fulton County Police said in a news release that the driver then steered to the left, lost control and the bus crossed over an uneven median and rolled over. The bus slid into a car traveling on the westbound side of the four-lane road.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office previously identified the person killed as 17-year-old Sarah Harmening of Huntsville, Alabama.
Police say she died at the scene.
The 37 other people in the van were taken to area hospitals for a variety of injuries, along with three other people in the other vehicles. Authorities say they don’t believe any of those injuries are life threatening.
10:30 a.m.
After some confusion over who is investigating the deadly crash of a church van near Atlanta’s airport, Fulton County police now say they are handling the probe.
Fulton County police spokeswoman Partrena Smith had said that the NTSB would investigate the crash, but on Friday she clarified that county police would handle it. She says the county is preparing to release an update on the wreck.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the agency is not investigating the crash.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office says 17-year-old Sarah Harmening of Huntsville, Alabama, was killed in the crash. Several others were injured.
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9:10 a.m.
Before she died in a bus crash outside Atlanta, an Alabama teen wrote in her journal that God had called her to a mission trip in Africa for a reason.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (https://on-ajc.com/2rIx44R) that 17-year-old Sarah Harmening’s mother, Karen, fought through tears as she read her daughter’s final journal entry.
Sarah was killed Thursday afternoon when a church bus carrying a group of young people prepared for the mission trip crashed. Police said the Mount Zion Baptist Church bus from Huntsville was headed to the airport when it collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road.
In her journal, Sarah wrote that she was being reminded of why she was on her way to Africa, that “God called me here” for a reason. Her entry concluded: “So I know he’s going to do incredible things.”
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8:05 a.m.
Authorities have confirmed the name of a teenage girl killed when a church bus carrying Alabama high school students crashed near Atlanta as the group prepared to embark on a mission trip to Africa.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office early Friday said 17-year-old Sarah Harmening of Huntsville, Alabama, was killed in the crash. At least 10 others were injured.
Police said the Mount Zion Baptist Church bus from Huntsville was headed to the airport Thursday afternoon when it collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road.
Television images from the scene showed the bus on its roof and another car underneath it.
The church asked people for prayers on its Facebook page.
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5:30 a.m.
Authorities say a church bus carrying Alabama high school students on their way to a mission trip in Africa crashed near Atlanta, killing one person and injuring several others.
Fulton County Police Cpl. Partrena Smith said the Mount Zion Baptist Church bus from Huntsville, Alabama, was headed to the airport Thursday afternoon when it collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road. Dozens of high school students and adults were on board.
Images from the scene showed the bus on its roof and another car underneath it. The parkway where the crash occurred was completely closed and firetrucks and ambulances swarmed the area near Atlanta’s airport.
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