Eighth-grader killed in Lexington 2 middle school bus crash identified
Information is still coming out about the fatal bus crash involving a Lexington 2 school bus in Chester County on Thursday.
One person, 13-year-old student Jose Maria Gonzalez-Linares, was killed and 21 people were transported to hospitals after a tire blew out on the 2021 Blue Bird school bus carrying students from Pine Ridge Middle School home from a field trip to the Charlotte area. The bus overturned on Interstate 77 and closed traffic in both directions for a time Thursday afternoon.
Officials said 35 students and three adults were on board the school bus when the accident occurred.
The Cayce-West Columbia school district said additional people traveling on two other buses which swerved to avoid a collision were also treated at local hospitals, with 38 individuals being transported from the scene between the three buses, according to Chester County Emergency Management.
100-plus passengers on buses involved in crash - 5:36 p.m.
The Lexington 2 school district provided a statement in response to some families’ frustration with communication surrounding the wreck:
“The bus site was roughly 50-60 miles away from the school and, thankfully, multiple EMS, first responder, and law enforcement agencies arrived quickly to medically assess the 100-plus Pine Ridge Middle School passengers on buses. It was a rapidly developing situation, and location information provided to the district by those overseeing the highway scene sometimes changed, for any number of reasons – a patient might have been slated to go to one hospital, for example, but, after an assessment on site is sent elsewhere based on the needs of the patient and hospital. Care of the patients was the first priority at the scene. The district’s goal throughout the afternoon and evening was to get accurate information to our Pine Ridge Middle School families as quickly as possible. We wish that all of that information had been available immediately, without the possibility of change, but in this kind of situation, that’s not always the case. We will continue to fine-tune our process.”
3 people were helicoptered from accident site - 3:30 p.m.
Chester County Emergency Management Director Ed Darby provided a clarification on how many people were transported for medical attention from the crash.
“38 patients were transported,” he told The State. “3 by helicopter, the rest by ground. Patients were taken to 5 different hospitals. Atrium, Prisma Main, MUSC Northeast, Piedmont, MUSC Chester.”
Mom didn’t believe text from son until she saw bus on its side - 2:41 p.m.
Ashanti Thames said when her son texted her at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday that a school bus had flipped over on the interstate, she didn’t believe it.
“I said, ‘FaceTime me,’” she said. “He showed me the bus on its side, and I just got in my car and shot across as quick as I could.”
Thames’ 14-year-old son was riding in the bus behind the bus that was in the accident, and he and his classmates were thrown to the floor when his driver swerved to avoid the wreck as the tire on the bus ahead blew out and it flipped over. Besides some bruises, he was unhurt, but Thames said he knew Jose Maria Gonzalez-Linares, the student who died in the accident.
“He said, ‘I think someone died,’” Thames remembers. He later got a phone call from one of Gonzalez-Linares’ relatives confirming his friend had died.
“That was one of his very good friends in sixth grade,” Thames said. “He was a smart kid, took AP classes. He really got to know him, it’s heartbreaking.”
You can read more about her son’s experience.
Friends, fellow students remember Gonzalez-Linares - 1:52 p.m.
Students at Pine Ridge Middle School are remembering the student who died in Thursday’s school bus accident on the way back from a field trip.
13-year-old Jose Maria Gonzalez-Linares died of blunt force trauma at the scene, first responders said.
Posts were being tagged with the hash tag LLJ, for “Long Live Jose.” Flowers were also being left Friday at the base of the flag pole at the middle school off Fish Hatchery Road and Pine Ridge Drive.
Deceased student identified - 11:19 a.m.
Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker confirmed the identity of the eighth grade student who died. 13-year-old Jose Maria Gonzalez-Linares was killed in the crash.
Lexington 2 acknowledged his passing Friday morning.
“Out of privacy and respect for the student’s family and the Pine Ridge Middle School community, no additional information will be released about the student,” the school district said in an emailed statement.
The district has also set up a page for donations to be made to Pine Ridge Middle School.
Tinker said Gonzalez-Linares died of blunt force trauma at the accident scene. First responders found him in the rear of the bus.
Students from bus crash share accounts on social media - 11:06 a.m.
Several students from the middle school posted tributes to the student who died, whose identity has not been publicly confirmed, to their social media accounts. A number of students believed to be on the bus when it crashed posted photos on their Instagram stories while sitting in gurneys, getting their vitals taken and from hospital beds.
Counseling offered for students, parents at middle school - 10:11 a.m.
Friday was the first day of spring break for Lexington 2 students. Class wasn’t being held at Pine Ridge Middle School, but a handful of colorful flower bouquets circled a flag pole at the entrance as students and their parents shuffled in and out of the school, where the school district was offering counseling services.
SC Gov. McMaster leads calls of condolences for Pine Ridge - 10 a.m.
Gov. Henry McMaster is among those offering condolences to the Pine Ridge community after Thursday’s deadly bus crash. State Superintendent Ellen Weaver, the town of Pine Ridge and others have made public statements about the accident.
You can read those and other reactions to the school bus accident here.
Passenger who died was in the eighth grade - 9:27 a.m.
Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker confirmed Friday to The State that a 13-year-old boy died in the crash. The deceased was in the eighth grade at Pine Ridge Middle School. His family has asked that his name not be released, according to Tinker.
The conditions of others hospitalized after the crash was unknown as of Friday morning.
Early Friday morning, members of the community gathered at the flag pole at Pine Ridge Middle School to honor those lost and injured in the crash.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 9:35 AM.
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