‘Tom Green has a very special place in my heart’ | Central Texas community rallies in support of Tom Green Elementary after school bus crash

As Central Texans grieve their loss, community members are showing their sympathies.

BUDA, Texas — More details have emerged about the deadly bus crash in Bastrop County that killed two, including a Pre-K student, on Friday.

The kids and staff on the bus were all from Tom Green Elementary in Buda, returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo. The school’s principal says three staff members and two students remain in the hospital.

RELATED: Principal of Tom Green Elementary releases statement, provides information following deadly bus crash that killed 2

A concrete truck veered off the road, hitting the bus on State Highway 21, and another car subsequently crashed in the back of the bus which killed that driver. 

The Tom Green Elementary School principal is encouraging the community to prioritize self-care and get help if needed. In a message sent to parents, the principal said school will be cancelled Monday, and that crisis and trauma counselors would be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Tom Green. Any student in need of transportation to those support services can call the school to coordinate a ride and school will resume on Tuesday. 

As Central Texans grieve these losses, community members are doing what they can to help the families impacted. For former fourth grade teacher Molly Andrews, Tom Green Elementary is more than just a school.

RELATED: ‘I am heartbroken’ | Hays CISD superintendent, others react to deadly Texas school bus crash

“Tom Green has a very special place in my heart and I think anybody can see that when they meet the people that work here and the students that go here and the parents that support this school,” Andrews said. “I’ve never felt more at home.”

But it is a home that has been disrupted since the news of the crash. 

“It’s hard, you know. We’re human. I just you know want to hug everybody and I can’t fathom what that family is going through and the teachers and everybody involved,” Andrews said. 

Joanne Thornton lives right down the road from the school.

“Well, I brought some flowers and a little rabbit Easter bunny,” Thornton said. “It just really touched me greatly that I wanted to do something to show my support for the community and the people of the school.”

Andrews is building on those sentiments by organizing a fundraiser for Tom Green as a whole with a goal to raise $50,000.

“Whether that’s you know hospital bills or you know expenses or for the teachers and the families and support, I’m giving that to the school to help you know have them decide,” Andrews said. “It really is a family.”

It is a gesture of support now, managing the loss of one of their own.

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