Sandy Creek community grapples with flood aftermath, bus crash

LEANDER, Texas – Community members in the Sandy Creek neighborhood have dealt with two traumatic events in a month and a half. 

First was the deadly flood at the beginning of July, then a school bus rollover on Wednesday. 

Leander ISD school bus crash

Kaleena Schumaker had three children on the Leander ISD bus that rolled over on Nameless Road near Palomino Ranch Drive. There were 42 children on board. 

Schumaker’s son is about to turn 9, and she has 6-year-old twins. Her son actually opened the back door of the bus to let people out. Luckily, her kids didn’t have to go to the hospital. 

“Kids were screaming, they were crying,” she said.

A total of 12 people were taken to the hospital. All were released by the next day.

Schumaker says after the rollover, they had to get on another bus, which scared them. 

“They are not okay,” she said.

She asked her daughter, Harley, “are you scared to get on a bus to go to school?” “Yeah,” Harley responded.

Schumaker says they will no longer take the bus to school.

NTSB and DPS are investigating the cause of the bus crash.

Dig deeper:

Nearby residents say they have concerns about Nameless Road, which is a winding road with no shoulder and sharp drop-offs on the edges.

“I’m actually surprised this is the first time a bus has wrecked,” Schumaker said. 

“That day it had rained, and that road is especially treacherous there whenever it rains just because of the curves… I’m not surprised it happened,” said resident Wren Bates. “We’ve had a lot of people moving into the area for the new developments… they don’t know the road, and so it is very easy to lose control of your vehicle.”

What they’re saying:

In a statement, Travis County says:

“Travis County sympathizes with the Sandy Creek community members who have gone through so much over the past several weeks. While we wait for the final results of the investigation to determine the cause of the accident, we pray for a quick recovery of all who were injured. Once a final cause is determined, Travis County will evaluate if any improvements to the road need to be made.” 

Sandy Creek flooding

The rollover site is roughly five minutes from the Sandy Creek Bridge. Residents there are still dealing with the effects of the flood. 

“Just one after the other, just one after the other,” Bates said of the floods and bus crash.

The bridge still isn’t repaired, and cars use a low water crossing.

“The only help that we’ve had is from the community,” Bates said of the flooding aftermath.

Round Mountain Baptist Church has been a resource center since the floods. It was also the reunification center after the bus crash.

Austin Disaster Relief Network has been set up there.

“There are a lot of folks that are really traumatized,” Dwight Bailey, executive director of ADRN, said. “Even just getting their heads around the reality of what the last 42 days have been like and then to have that happen, it’s just overwhelming.”