EPHRAIM — A truck driver died, and 18 people in a school bus were injured in a crash in Ephraim Friday night.
A pickup truck was driving south on U.S. 89 near Ephraim when it went left of center and grazed a school bus heading north about 8:30 p.m. The truck then crashed head-on into a second school bus that was driving behind the first, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The 17 students from Wasatch Academy on the second bus and the driver were all transported to a hospital with varying injuries. Two occupants were transported by medical helicopter in critical condition, the UHP said. No one was injured in the first bus that had 19 students.
The driver of the pickup, Melvin Beckstead, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Fatigued driving is being suspected as the cause of the crash," UHP said.
A coach said students at the school in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County, were gathering Saturday to discuss the incident and final exams for next week have been postponed.
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Cassidy Wixom
