Athens ISD student killed after school bus collides with train

ATHENS, Texas - A middle school student was killed and a little girl was critically injured after a school bus collided with a train in East Texas.

An Athens ISD school bus collided with a Union Pacific train at a railroad crossing Friday afternoon just after 4 p.m.

Two students and the driver were on the bus. A 13-year-old boy, who was a middle school student, was killed. A 9-year-old girl, who is an elementary school student, was critically injured and flown from to Children's Medical Center in Dallas. They were both trapped and had to be cut out of the wreckage.

The bus driver was thrown from the bus and is hospitalized.

While Athens ISD Police Chief Buddy Hill says the driver is stable, he did not release the man's condition. The train engineer was not seriously hurt.

The crash happened at a railroad crossing where there weren’t any crossing arms.

A church in Athens has been trying to comfort the community and organized a vigil Friday evening.

The school district is doing what it can to help students, parents and staff.

Athens is located about 75 miles southeast of Dallas.