FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — There's a tragic history behind the modern team saving Floyd County residents from emergencies today.
On Feb. 28, 1958, 68-years-ago, history in eastern Kentucky was dramatically changed when 26 children and one adult would tragically drown in the Big Sandy River after a school bus became stuck in a muddy embankment.
According to the Kentucky National Guard, the event occurred near Prestonburg, Kentucky on a cold and cloudy morning. Almost 50 students were inside of a school bus traveling down U.S. Route 23 when the school bus became stuck in the Levisa Fork. The school bus then was swept downstream and began sinking.
Around half of the students in the school bus were able to escape before the vehicle became fully submerged, however 27 individuals died from drowning, including the driver of the bus. The Kentucky National Guard reports that emergency responders took 55 hours to locate the bus, and 500 National Guardsmen helped recover the vehicle.
According to the Floyd County Emergency & Rescue Squad Facebook page, the historic tragedy is one of the reasons the rescue team was created.
"Neighbors refused to stand by helpless again; ordinary men and women stepped forward with extraordinary courage. They built something out of grief—an organization dedicated to serving, protecting, and responding when our community needed it most. What began as a response to tragedy became a legacy of service," the rescue squad wrote in a memorial anniversary post on Saturday.
Of the fatalities in the bus accident, two victims were eight-years-old, four victims were nine-years-old, one victim was 11-years-old, one victim was 12-years-old, three victims were 13-years-old, six victims were 14-years-old, five victims were 15-years-old, one victim was 16-years-old, three victims were 17-years-old, and the bus driver who died was 27-years-old.
