CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — Classmates are grieving the death of a Temple High School football player who was killed Monday afternoon in a school bus rollover crash.
School officials said grief counselors will be on hand Tuesday to help fellow students cope with their loss.
James "Ray Ray" Walker, 17, of Temple, died and more than a dozen others were injured in the crash that happened just before 2 p.m. on Georgia Highway 113 south in Carroll County between Temple and Carrollton, said a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol.
Friends of Walker provided Channel 2 with a picture of the victim. They described him as funny and a talented artist with a bright smile who was determined to go to college.
"The boy could draw his heart out at any time," one person said. "He was very happy, he never stayed sad."
Investigators told Channel 2 Action News that it appears the school bus was traveling south when the driver lost control, left the roadway and ran into a ditch, causing the bus to overturn. Witnesses told Channel 2 Action News reporter Jim Strickland that the bus rolled over multiple times before stopping.
Strickland later learned from the Carroll County Schools Superintendent that a driver trainee was behind the wheel of the school bus.
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The trainee was identified as Kenneth Ross Herringdine, 59, of Roopville, according to GSP. The regular bus driver was also on board at the time of the accident. Her husband told Channel 2 Action News reporter Amanda Cook that Herringdine slurred his words, and may have had a health condition.
The superintendent said both the trainee and the regular bus driver were placed on administrative leave.
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A representative for Tanner Medical Center told Channel 2 that patients were taken to Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Tanner Medical Center in Villa Rica and Higgins Hospital in Bremen. The patients range in age from 15 to 45 years old and among them is the 45-year-old female bus driver. Most of them were treated and released by Monday night.
Student Brianna Barger was on the bus during the crash. She said she suffered cuts and bruises and needed 10 stitches.
"I heard Ms. Davis scream and I blacked out. My friend was on top of me in the air," said Barger.
Concerned parents gathered at Temple High School, said a spokesman for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office.
"A lot of them (students) were in pain. I heard a lot of moaning and crying," said Ben Cole, who rushed to the crash site to help.
"I pulled out one little girl," said Jason Jennings.
A spokesman for GSP said the crash investigation has been turned over to the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team. Any charges in the crash would come after the SCRT completes its investigation and meets with the local solicitor or DA, the GPS said. The SCRT investigation is expected to take several weeks before it is completed.