3 killed after truck hits Mississippi school bus

By the CNN Wire Staff

Three people were killed near Calhoun City, Mississippi. A tractor-trailer clipped one school bus, then hit another head-on.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Teacher, bus driver, truck driver are killed in Mississippi wreck, officials say
A school group was returning from a college visit
About 60 students were on the two buses

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(CNN) -- A tractor-trailer clipped one bus carrying students back from a college visit and then struck another head-on, leaving three dead, Mississippi authorities said Tuesday.

A teacher, school bus driver and the driver of the big rig died in the Tuesday afternoon incident near Calhoun City, authorities said.

"I've been doing this for 41 years and this is the worst wreck with this number of people I've seen," said Calhoun County Sheriff Billy Gore. "It's troubling to see so many young kids so so frightened."

The school group was returning from a visit to the University of Mississippi, officials said.

Mitchell Diggs, a spokesman for the University of Mississippi, said the group from Ackerman High School in Choctaw County was in Oxford for a typical admissions visit for seniors.

The students later took a tour and had lunch before departing the campus around 1 p.m., Diggs said.

About 60 children were on the buses, and 10 were transported to area hospitals after the 2:30 p.m. collision, officials said. One patient was airlifted, Gore said. The rest suffered mostly bumps and bruises, he said.

The accident happened on state routes 8 and 9, which are combined for several miles.

Footage provided by CNN affiliate WMC in Memphis, Tennessee, showed the damaged bus on a narrow bridge. The truck continued a few hundred yards before coming to a stop.

Calhoun City is in north central Mississippi.

The investigation is continuing.

CNN's Craig Bell and Sara Pratley contributed to this report.