The last words of a driver before he sped round a curb and crashed a school bus, killing five children and injuring 23 more, were reportedly: 'Are y'all ready to die?'
The mother of three children who were on the bus - including one who died - said her daughter revealed what Johnthony Walker told them right before the crash.
'My daughter said, right before the bus flipped, that he was speeding around the curb, and asked them, ‘are y’all ready to die?’ she told CBS News Radio.
Walker, 24, who appears to be a father, is charged with five counts of vehicular homicide as well as reckless driving and reckless endangerment after the crash on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday, pictures of three of the students who died emerged.
Zyanna Harris, Zoey and Dayja were identified by family members as one of the five Woodmore Elementary students who died in Monday.
Ten-year-old Zyanna loved to dance and had a good heart, her stepfather told
Interim superintendent for Hamilton County Schools Kirk Kelly, said on Tuesday that four of the five dead were girls.
Three of the children were in fourth-grade, one was in first-grade and the other was in kindergarten.
Kelly added that classes would be held on Tuesday with counselors available for students and staff.
The arrest affidavit, which was posted online by Chattanooga station WTVC, says driver Walker was driving well above the posted speed limit of 30 mph when the bus left the narrow, winding road and eventually struck a tree.
It says the charges were brought against Walker because of the reckless nature of his driving combined with his high rate of speed.
He was jailed on $107,500 bail for a court appearance on November 29.
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Students from kindergarten through fifth grade were on board when the bus flipped onto its side and wrapped around a tree at 313 Talley Road at around 3.20pm.
The bus was the only vehicle involved in the crash, but Fletcher said the scene was complicated and covered a significant area.
He also said a warrant had been issued to remove the bus' black box, which contains data about the vehicle's movement.
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Emergency responders needed almost two hours to get all the children off the bus.
Television cameras showed emergency vehicles still there late into the night.
this is like a legitimate nightmare
RIP angels
