‘It just didn’t seem real’ – Driver describes deer flying into bus in Orangeburg County

The bus driver, Luther Owens, says his training allowed him to keep calm as the injured deer tried to escape the bus full of students.

“The biggest challenge for me was keeping my composure and remaining calm for the sake of the students,” he said.

“When I got home, I broke down.”

The crash occurred at 5:28 p.m. on U.S. Highway 301 near Hosta Drive, outside Cope.

Owens said he was driving a group of 20 Job Corps students from the Orangeburg County Christmas Parade back to the Bamberg Job Corps Center when the unexpected happened.

“I was in the left southbound lane and a car was to my right,” Owens said.

He described what happened next as “a gunshot – POW! – and it came from the back window.”

Owens turned on the interior lights of the bus and pulled over.

He said students were “yelling and screaming.”

Owens discovered that the car struck a deer. The impact sent the deer flying through the rear window of the bus.

The deer landed on a student before attempting to exit another window.

“It was like a surreal thing. It just didn’t seem real,” Owens said.

Ambulances took seven students from scene to hospitals.

The student who was injured when the deer landed on him was flown to Prisma Health Richland for treatment. Owens says the other six students were released from the hospital.

The driver of the car got out and checked on the bus occupants, Owens said.

The front of the car was damaged, he added.

Owens said he didn’t sleep longer than 30 minutes Sunday night because he was thinking about the students and replaying the collision in his mind.

He said additional counselors and nurses are available for the students at the Bamberg Job Corps Center following the incident.

“This was the first time I’ve ever had this happen,” Owens said of a deer crashing inside a bus.

He’s been a bus driver for 19 years.

He’s also a bus safety instructor and trained through the S.C. School Safety Office under the S.C. Department of Education.

He provided behind-the-wheel training for 12 years. For the past five years, he’s worked as a safety officer, in addition to driving students on field trips.

Owens said his calm, quick response came naturally. He gives credit to the proper training he received, namely through a mentor, Desmond Williams.

Williams is a commercial driver’s license instructor at the S.C. Department of Education.

Williams helped Owens develop, “the ability to act quickly and professionally in the situation.”

“His guidance not only equipped me with essential driving skills, but also instilled a strong sense of responsibility and awareness on the road,” Owens noted.

“He always told us in class: P,S,T – triple C – P,” Owens said.

He said that rule of thumb was what came to mind when the accident occurred.

Owens noted that P stands for “protect the area” followed by S, “secure the bus.”

Next comes T, which stands for “turn the bus off and put the key in your pocket,” he said.

The “triple Cs” stand for: check for injuries, call 911 and call the supervisor.

The final P stands for, “perform first aid until EMS arrives.”

“It just hit me naturally,” he said. “We’re in this situation and with these procedures and these steps.”