By Ida Brown
ibrown@themeridianstar.com
Instead of engaging in the usual fellowship that follows Sunday morning worship services, members of two Meridian congregations went to the aid of passengers of an early morning church bus accident on Interstate 20 that left one dead.
Shortly after 10 a.m., a 30-passenger church bus carrying a youth group from First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La., was headed eastbound when a tire blew near mile marker 160.
"Witnesses say the bus rolled three times," said Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler.
"Several passengers were ejected from the bus; two were pinned under the bus," Cobler said.
A group of National Guard soldiers on the highway at the time of the accident "stopped and physically picked that bus up and put it back on its tires," Cobler said.
An 18-year-old male passenger was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. Three passengers were airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson – one from the accident scene and two from local hospitals.
The remaining passengers are being treated at local hospitals. There injuries ranged from severe pelvic, back, and chest injuries to scrapes and scratches, Cobler said.
Local congregants from First Baptist Church and Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church banned together to help in the aftermath of the deadly accident.
"All the people were in rooms being examined or being taken to surgery when we arrived at the hospital," said the Rev. Raymon Leake, pastor of First Baptist Church in Meridian.
"When we were asked what was needed, we were told that a lot of the parents in Shreveport didn't know which hospitals to go to. We got a list together and called them with the information."
Luggage and other items taken from the accident scene were transported to Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church.
"We're going to leave them at the church for the family members, since we're just a couple of blocks from the hospitals," said the Rev. Wayne Smith, pastor of the church.
Dr. Greg Hunt, senior pastor at First Baptist in Shreveport, expressed his appreciation for everyone in Meridian who has "provided heroic support" in the aftermath. Hunt posted a statement on the church's Web site: "Our congregation is leaning on our faith and confidence in God, balancing direct action with reliance on the goodness and power of God."
The congregation received word of the accident shortly before morning worship and used the occasion to rally together in prayer and move into action.
The youth group was scheduled to attend the weeklong event, Passport in Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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