Texas Theme Park Bus Involved in Fiery Fatal Crash
A shuttle bus ferrying guests from a Christmas theme park near College Station Texas was involved in a fiery fatal crash this past Saturday night. The crash happened shortly after midnight early Sunday morning as the shuttle bus was carrying passengers back to their cars after a visit to Santa's Wonderland theme park.
A preliminary investigation shows the bus was struck by motorists traveling the wrong way on a street near Post Oak Mall in College Station. The bus was reportedly carrying students from nearby Texas A&M University but it was not filled to capacity.
Investigators say the driver of the SUV which was traveling in the wrong direction was killed when the vehicle burst into flames. Rescuers were unable to remove the driver from the wreckage. However, a passenger was extricated from the crashed SUV and was transported to a local hospital with what were described as serious injuries.
Santa's Wonderland identified the driver of the bus as Calvin Hill. Hill is reported to be a long-term team member with Santa's Wonderland. He is also a track and field as well as a football coach with Rudder High School in nearby Bryan Texas.
Santa's Wonderland has since reopened to visitors following the crash. The park bills itself as the largest outdoor Christmas attraction in the south. In addition to the millions of holiday lights, Santa's Wonderland also features exhibits with real ice and snow. There is also tubing on real snow and more than 10 acres of new farmland attractions at the park.
Santa's Wonderland will be open nightly through December 30th the hours of operation are listed as 4 pm until 11 pm nightly.
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