Coach hailed as hero in bus crash
An assistant high school football coach is being heralded as a hero after no children were injured in a multi-vehicle accident involving a school bus last Thursday on Highway 19 south.
Philadelphia High Assistant Football Coach Trent Hanna was driving the third in a line of three busses returning from a field trip when the vehicle's front left tire was shredded.
Mississippi Highway Patrol investigators have not released the details of the accident, but representatives from the school district are in agreement on what happened next: Hanna kept his cool and brought the bus safely to a sliding stop in the only flat area on the side of the highway for miles just north of House.
"Coach Hanna did an outstanding job of insuring the safety of those children," Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Lisa Hull said Tuesday. "It was raining that day and the roads were slick. He's a hero, even though he doesn't want to hear it. He says he was just doing his job, but we're very appreciative. It's because of him that those children could go home with their families that night."
The accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m., according to witnesses, and involved the bus and two other vehicles.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol has an open investigation into the incident, but has yet to issue an official report outlining the circumstances of the accident.
Spokesman Andy West told the Democrat and the school district's central office that because the accident involved a school bus and two additional vehicles, the investigation might take longer than usual.
West did say that the driver of one of the two passenger vehicles involved in the incident was transported to Rush Health Systems in Meridian and the other driver was cleared by EMS at the scene, West said. He also confirmed that no injuries were reported on the school bus, and that the children were offloaded onto another bus and driven to the school.
The seventh and eighth-grade classes were returning from a field trip to Mississippi's Arts and Entertainment Experience, a $50 million museum better known as the MAX, which highlights artists and celebrates the contributions of arts and entertainment in the state's culture.
Hanna has served as Philadelphia High's defensive coordinator for the football team since early 2019. His brother Tate Hannah is the head football coach at Lake.
Attempts to reach Trent Hanna for comment were unsuccessful.
"He doesn't want the recognition because he doesn't think he's a hero," Hull said. "He said he just did what anyone else would have done, but what he was able to do was nothing short of a miracle."