13-year-old Pine Ridge Middle School student dies in Thursday afternoon bus crash near Charlotte, NC

West Columbia, SC 04/18/2025 (Paul Kirby) - Lexington County School District Two, it’s administrators, teachers, support staff, and their student body were devastated to learn Friday morning that the Chester County Coroner’s Office confirmed a 13-year-old male student’s death in a bus accident Thursday afternoon.

The district said that the child who died was one of 35 District Two students injured and transported to a local medical center for evaluation after the accident. The lead bus in a 3 bus convoy came to rest on its side on the interstate after the crash. 2 other Lexington Two buses, also assigned to the same long-planned school field trip to Charlotte, NC, contributed 11 of the 35 total District Two children who were transported from the scene. Some of those children came from another bus that had to take violent evasive actions to avoid the bus that was out of control and filliping.

WBTV News in Charlotte now says that Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker’s office has confirmed that the boy who died was Jose Maria Gonzales Linares. He was an 8th-grade student at Pine Ridge Middle School. The bus he was riding on was flipped on its side, closing I-77 near the Great Falls Highway exit for some time.

State troopers are saying that a tire blew on the lead bus in the 3-bus convoy causing its driver to lose control., strike a guardrails, and then flip on its side. The SCHP is still investigating.

People have already asked about how they can make a momentary donation to this child's family. They have already set up an official giving page to ensure the money anyone donates will get to the family. FIND THAT DONATION PAGE HERE BY CLCIKING THIS LINK.