Horrific Multi-Vehicle School Bus Accident in Cottonwood Near Marshall Claims Four Students - A Nightmare That is Hard to Comprehend

(Photos by Rae Kruger of the Marshall Independent)

A horrible van-truck-school bus accident claimed at least four young lives today at 3:25pm in Southwest Minnesota. I'll be posting information on this through the evening.

What I heard was that a minivan hit the school bus as the bus was traveling south on MN-Highway 23 in Cottonwood, and then the bus tipped on its side on the hood of a pickup truck.

It must have been an incredible impact to send the schoolbus to tip on its side.

The schoolbus carried 28 students from the Lakeview school district, based in Cottonwood, MN near Marshall. Lakeview is in Section 5A in football, as is our Jaguars football team. They were the #5-seeded team and lost a 50-38 shootout at Renville County West in last fall's football playoff opener.

At 8:22 one of my sources in the Marshall area confirmed that four Lakeview students have died. Unconfirmed reports are that three were elementary age, and one was a middle-schooler. I'm not sure if any students remaining at the Sioux Falls, Marshall, or Granite Falls hospitals are still in critical condition.

**At 9:41 I found out that one of the students killed was a 7th grader, and one was a 4th grade student. Two teachers at Lakeview were parents of two of the four students killed in the crash. I know what it's like to lose someone in a sudden and shocking fashion, but to lose a child in a schoolbus accident is almost impossible to comprehend.

I just learned another sad, sad item = Two of the four students killed were brothers.

Weather conditions at helicopter locations grounded some of the air-rescue attempts.

This is un-imaginable.

Drive safely and buckle up! And pray for the Cottonwood-Hanley Falls-Wood Lake area.

The Jaguars girls basketball team's eight-game winning streak came to an end tonight when they hosted Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in a battle for second place in the Central Minnesota Conference. They lost 77-56, but at one point in the second half had the deficit down to 6. They will host Hancock and Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday & Friday this week. Both are state-ranked teams.

Girls basketball scores:
Pierz 34, Kimball Area 32 (Oh so close...Kimball is still winless in the CMC)
Hancock 58, Central Minnesota Christian-Prinsburg 43 (Hancock is 19-3 going into their Thursday night match up with our Jaguars girls basketball team)

Boys basketball scores:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 57, Kimball Area 56 (HL-W-W holds onto 2nd place in the CMC)
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 73, Paynesville Area 57 (The Bulldogs continue their tailspin, as I predicted and hoped for...now the Jaguars need to capitalize and keep winning as the season winds down over the next three weeks. They hold their fate in their own hands, and I feel if they can get to at least 14 or 15 wins they will have a shot at a first-round home playoff game. Paynesville began the season 4-0 and has gone 5-11 since, including a current 5-game losing streak.)
Rockford 64, Eden Valley-Watkins 61 (Close...but Rockford remains atop the CMC)

The River Lakes Stars boys hockey team fell in the Section 8AA quarterfinals tonight to top-seeded Roseau by a 13-0 score. The Rams are now 26-0 on the season! (That's not hockey country up there, is it?)