The 1959 Garrett County school bus tragedy

On Sept. 10, 1959, tragedy struck…

A school bus with 27 students stalled on the rail road while crossing from Loch Lynn to Mountain Lake Park
Seven students were killed.
Most of the rest were injured. For years the families were reluctant to talk about their grief.
Here are some of the stories.

 
The Society in cooperation with the Naylor Family Trust, recorded interviews with witnesses, medical staff and survivors of the crash in 2017. The interviews took place in front of  the exhibit dedicated to memorializing the accident and its victims.

Interviews with witnesses, medical staff and victims of the crash

  • Witnesses: 0:28 -Carolyn Simmons (Corley), Carolyn Taylor Flaherty, George Perine, Dale Evans
  • Family Members 05:49 -Mary Lee Moore, Sheryl Harvey, Holly Hoffman
  • Medical Staff 09:00 -Dr. Joseph Alvarez, Norma Hessen, Martha Sanders
  • The Survivors 10:08 -Dee Schaffer (Burns), Margarie Paugh, Francis Dixon, Gladys Dixon, Jim Hinkle, Roy Hinkle, Mary Ellen Itnyre, Roy Dixon

The Garrett County Museum of Transportation has an immersive exhibit on the top floor dedicated to memorializing the victims of the crash and contextualizing the accident and its later effects. Below is a gallery of images in this exhibit