College student hailed a hero after he took control of bus after crash

(HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss.) — A University of South Carolina student is being hailed a hero after he took control of a charter bus following a crash Friday in Hancock County, Mississippi, according to authorities.

Eleven people onboard the bus were injured. The driver of the bus, 55-year-old Tina Wilson, and a student were airlifted from the scene in critical condition, according to police.

The charter bus, carrying 56 students from the University of South Carolina, was traveling west on Interstate 10 around 3 p.m. local time when it collided with a center concrete barrier, police said.

“The bus is still moving, now it’s on all wheels on the ground, still moving out of control without a driver,” Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said. “So heroically the second hero of the day, a young man, a student with Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Paul Clune, grabs that steering wheel and regains control of the bus until it came to a final stop.”

The bus, according to the University of South Carolina, was transporting fraternity members and guests to an event in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“Our thoughts go out to the students involved in the accident and those affected by it,” the university said in a statement.

The remaining students at the crash site were transported to a nearby school building, where they arranged for further transportation, police said.

Authorities are not sure what caused the crash, but preliminary information suggests that a mechanical failure may have caused the incident, Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Cal Robertson said.

This crash remains under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.