A new video released by the Albuquerque Police Department this week captured the terrifying moment a racing car crashed into a school bus full of middle school students, forcing it to roll over on its side as the children were launched in the air.
A Ford Mustang careened into the bus carrying 23 students from George Sanchez Collaborative Community School on 23 February. Video recorded by an onboard camera shows the kids sitting in their seats before being flipped onto the windows piled on top of one another.
The impact from the crash was so great it sent one child, who was seen walking down the centre of the aisle one moment, to the complete opposite end of the bus.
Police said that Mario Perez, 49, was the driver behind the wheel of the speeding car. He had allegedly been racing another blue Mustang in the area at more than 100 mph, KOAT reported.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, children can be heard screaming as they attempt to begin making their way out of the bus through the emergency exit or by crawling through the windows.
At one point, a student cries out for a girl they believe is hurt, shouting: “Cindy, Cindy, someone help Cindy!”
Of the nearly two dozen students onboard the bus that day, seven were sent to hospital with two suffering serious leg injuries while a 14-year-old suffered a fractured pelvis, according to KOAT.
Two of the students with serious injuries required surgery.
Perez has been charged with two counts of great bodily harm by vehicle and suffered a broken femur.
The District Attorney’s Office told KRQE that those charges were filed by an officer, but they suspect more charges could be laid against the driver as the case makes its way through their office to the District Court.
The other car that was reportedly racing Perez sped away from the scene after the collision with the bus, witnesses told KOAT. No arrest has been made.
