The News

Written by a CSUCI student.

It’s a harrowing scene tonight, Scott. Witnesses say it was like watching a superhero movie; tragically, the villain won. Onlookers say the driver of this Chevy swerved into oncoming traffic, seemingly playing chicken with a fully loaded 72 passenger bus, and then swerved at the last moment into the river. The school bus belongs to Mariposa Elementary School, and was on its way back from a field trip. 

We’re told the driver got herself out of her vehicle. She’s been arrested and taken into custody. The bus swerved on the icy road into the river. As you can see, the damage is… catastrophic. We’re waiting for the updates on the death toll. We’ll be right back with you after a quick commercial break.  

This just in, Scott. I’m– I– (clears throat) 50 kids are in critical condition. 5 have yet to be found. And the others, including the driver were pronounced dead on the scene. The paramedics on the scene say that a lot of the children drowned, while others were crushed by the impact. The ones who are in critical condition were helped out of the bus by a passerby, a good samaritan. He is still aiding the paramedics. As you can see, there is a helicopter getting ready to take off to Mercy Hospital in Merced. I’m told they filled the helicopter to its capacity and they’ll treat the victims as soon as they land. We’ll be right back after this. 

Scott, I’m–I’m sorry, I have some medical training, I’m going to go help them…

Natalie, just do your job and report the scene. 

Fine, this seems like a good teachable moment then. Binge drinking and impaired driving are plagues that have swept our country. Each year more and more children, that’s right, I said children, are binge drinking and then getting in their cars and heading home. Drunk driving statistics are going down, thank God, but they’re obviously still happening. If you’re at home listening, please, I beg of you, have a conversation with your kids tonight about drinking and driving. Give them an out, a free pass to be able to call you if they need to be picked up from a party. Please, stop these fatalities from happening. This is Natalie with Fox News, you–heard it here first. 

I hate this job sometimes, Scott. God, this is horrible. 

Take the emotion out of it Natalie, just do your job. But I’m glad you spoke to parents and educated them a little on the subject. I’m sorry you have to report this, Natalie, I truly am. There’s not a dry eye in the office right now. You can do this though, you’ve got this. Just one more segment and you can go home for the night. 

Thank you, Scott. 

This is Natalie with Fox News. We’re at the sight of an utterly horrific tragic drunk driving accident. The driver’s identity has been given, she’s a Merced resident. Her name is Joslyn Smith. She was headed home from a party and swerved into oncoming traffic, which was tragically a bus full of children and chaperones. We’ve been updated with new numbers. 5 people are still missing. All of the 8 adult chaperones and the bus driver were killed on impact. 4 children walked away from the accident with little physical injury; just a few broken bones. 17 have been taken to the hospital, and we’re waiting to hear more. 

This story will be updated in half an hour. We’ll go to Kelly with the weather and an update on Christmas Tree lane in Fresno. Please drink responsibly. This is Natalie Reynoso with Fox News, signing off for the night.