Real Estate Photographer in Leander, TX

The rural road where a Leander ISD schools bus crashed on Wednesday afternoon has a consistent history of accidents. So far this year there have been four crashes in a section of Nameless Road close to the crash site. The latest one was Wednesday afternoon when a school bus carrying more than 40 students veered off Nameless Road, went down an embankment and flipped on its side. 17 students and the school bus driver were taken to the hospital. (Photo: Bettie Cross)

LEANDER, Texas — The rural road where a Leander ISD school bus crashed on Wednesday afternoon has a consistent history of accidents. So far this year, there have been four crashes in a section of Nameless Road close to the crash site. The latest one was Wednesday afternoon when a school bus carrying more than 40 students veered off Nameless Road, went down an embankment, and flipped on its side. 17 students and the school bus driver were taken to the hospital.

One day after the crash in Northwest Travis County, students and parents shared stories of children injured when the bus rolled over on Nameless Road.

"His little finger is broken and in a splint right now," said Bagdad Elementary School 4th grader, Catalina Martinez.

Martinez says a few other friends suffered cuts in the crash. The 4th grader says she noticed fewer students than normal riding the bus on Thursday.

A bunch of kids were at parent pick up because all of the parents were afraid to send their kids on the bus because of the accident," said Martinez.

Nameless Road twists and turns through Northwest Travis County. There is also a sharp drop-off where the pavement ends. The section of road near the crash site has a consistent history of accidents, according to TXDOT data. It shows more than 30 crashes from 2020 to 2025 on Nameless Road between Palomino Ranch Road and Round Mountain Road. Each year, for the past five years, there have been four to six crashes in that area. Investigators are continuing to piece together the cause of Wednesday's crash.

"For an unknown reason, the bus left the right side of the roadway, rolling over," said Sgt. Billy Ray with the Department of Public Safety.

The bus driver was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital. CBS Austin asked Leander ISD for more information about the driver's years of experience and driving record, but this is all they would share.

"This is one of our seasoned, veteran bus drivers," said Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing.

More information on the crash will be available when the Department of Public Safety (DPS) releases an accident report.

A school bus carrying 42 students on Wednesday rolled over after veering off a rural road in Travis County, Texas on the first day of class, injuring multiple students, authorities said.

It happened around 3:15 p.m.in the 22300 block of Nameless Road, according to the Texas Highway Patrol.

The bus for Leander Independent School District was carrying primarily elementary school students, Superintendent Bruce Gearing said. The crash happened shortly after school let out, and no students had been dropped off yet.

At least one person had life-threatening injuries, while two others had "potentially life-threatening injuries," Assistant Chief Kevin Parker, with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, said during a news conference.

The bus was traveling on a rural stretch of two-lane road when it veered off the right side "for an unknown reason" and rolled over, according to Department of Public Safety Sgt. Billy Ray.

He later said in a statement Wednesday night that it was raining when the crash happened and "it is unclear if weather had a factor." The crash is being investigated.

Video footage of the scene showed the yellow school bus lying on its side next to the road with its roof damaged and several windows broken.

School and emergency officials said the bus had 42 children, and the driver, along with 15 students, were transported to hospitals. Officials did not say if the person with life-threatening injuries was a student or the driver.

The bus is a 2024 model and is equipped with state-mandated seat belts that the children are required to wear, Gearing said.

"We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them," he said.

Ten people were taken to hospitals Wednesday after an elementary school bus in Texas rolled over on a rural road north of Austin, officials said.

The Travis County Emergency Services District said that nine of the people were students. The driver was also transported to a hospital, the agency said in a Facebook post.

One of the injuries was life-threatening, according to Kevin Parker, assistant chief with Austin-Travis County Medical Emergency Services, and two were potentially life-threatening.

The remaining injuries were not life-threatening, he said.

There were 43 people on the bus at the time. The rollover occurred after school, before any students had been dropped off, said Bruce Gearing, superintendent of the Leander Independent School District.

It isn’t clear what caused the vehicle, described by Gearing as a 2024 model with seatbelts, to drive off the right side of the road before it rolled, an official with the Texas Department of Public Safety told reporters.

The official noted a slight curve in the road and said a preliminary investigation is ongoing.

Images from the scene showed the damaged vehicle on its side.

Gearing described the driver as a seasoned veteran and said the bus primarily carries students from a local elementary school. It’s unclear how many students were wearing seatbelts when the bus rolled, he said.

“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods and this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts,” Gearing said. “We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them.”

Tim Stelloh

Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Anna Sundberg and John Filippelli contributed.

LEANDER, Texas — A Leander Independent School District school bus overturned in the Sandy Creek neighborhood Wednesday after veering off the road, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

According to reports, the crash took place on the 22000 block of Nameless Road around 3:16 p.m. There were 42 children and one adult on board.

The bus was traveling on a rural stretch of two-lane road when it veered off the right side “for an unknown reason” and rolled over, said Department of Public Safety Sgt. Billy Ray.

Ray later said in a Wednesday night statement that it was raining when the crash happened and “it is unclear if weather had a factor.” The crash is being investigated.

School officials said 17 people were transported to hospitals, according to a letter from Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing, with one of those people being the bus driver. The letter also said two people sustained serious injuries, but all individuals are in stable condition.

"This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods," the letter said talking about the flooding in the Sandy Creek neighborhood last month. "The tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts. We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything we can in our power to support them. And we will be here for all of those students who are affected, their friends, and their families."

Video footage of the scene showed the yellow school bus lying on its side next the road with its roof damaged and several windows broken.

The school bus, a 2024 model, belonged to Bagdad Elementary School and was equipped with state-mandated seat belts. It is unclear whether the children were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

The crash happened shortly after school let out, and no students had been dropped off yet.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

UPDATE at 5:41 p.m.: On the first day of school for Leander ISD, Austin and Leander emergency personnel identified 43 total people on board a bus during the collision, according to a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Of the 12 people who were transported to the hospital after the crash, one is considered to have life-threatening injuries, two have potentially life-threatening injuries and the remaining 40 have non life threatening injuries.

Multiple patients were transported to Dell Children's Medical Center at Mueller at 51st and I-35, while others went to Texas Children's North, Dell Children's North, and also the Cedar Park Regional Medical Center. A reunification center is set up at Round Mountain Baptist Church in Leander, for those who do not need to be taken to the hospital.

Texas DPS Public Information Officer Sergeant Billy Ray said the bus involved in the crash was a 2024 model with seatbelts. The agency's "preliminary crash investigation shows the bus was traveling south on Nameless road, which has a slight curve and for an unknown reason, the bus left the right side of the roadway, rolling it over," Ray said.

Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing added that the community was also impacted by the July Fourth floods this summer and, "this tragedy this afternoon is really breaking our hearts."

"We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them," Gearing said.

UPDATE at 5:18 p.m.: Austin-Travis County EMS told MySA 10 people involved in the crash have been hospitalized. Others on board the bus have been transported to a reunification center for further evaluation and reunification with family.

Original story

Emergency crews are responding to a rollover school bus crash with multiple injuries in Central Texas on Wednesday, August 13. A Leander ISD bus rolled over with more than 40 children on board the bus, according to the Austin Travis County EMS.

ATCEMS and the Travis County Sheriff's Office are on scene in Leander and are asking drivers to avoid the area. The crash occurred at approximately 3:15 p.m. in the 22000 block of Nameless Road, near Palamino Ranch Drive and Honey Comb Lane in the Sandy Creek area.

Bus Rollover Collision at ~22100 Nameless Rd: #ATCEMS, @TCESD1 on scene of a Leander ISD school bus rollover. A total of 42 children were on the bus & 1 adult. Please avoid the area and allow emergency responders to work the scene. More information to follow.

— ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) August 13, 2025

ATCEMS said a total of 42 children and one adult were on board the bus. Although the number of injuries is unclear, KVUE learned the bus is affiliated with Bagdad Elementary School in Leander.

TCSO told CBS Austin the crash is considered to be a major collision, and the Texas Department of Public Safety is also responding.

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available. MySA reached out to the Leander Fire Department and the Travis County Sheriff's Office for comment.