Horrific bus crash changes a family’s life

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - It has been 34 days since a Meridian school bus crashed into a home on 15th Street. The family said the house is still in the same condition as when the crash happened May 14.

“I was appalled to see that the house was still in the same state,” said the homeowner’s daughter, Jonetta Andrepont.

The family car is still covered with debris from where the garage collapsed and pieces of the school bus are still in the yard.

The family said the real impact has been on the health of their 85-year-old father. They said he was hospitalized Friday because of stress that all he has worked for now has a big hole in it.

“It breaks my heart because my father shouldn’t have to worry about where he is going to lay his head. He shouldn’t have to worry about losing all his money trying to pay for a hotel. He did not create this mess. He is the victim,” said Andrepont.

The family said their father has spent over $4,000 in hotel costs after they said the school only paid for 8 nights at a hotel. They said the house is unlivable.

“I don’t care how old the house is. It is his house. He paid for it; he enjoys his community and he enjoyed going outside to plant his flowers. All of that was taken away from him in 15 minutes,” said Andrepont.

The family also said that the Meridian Public School District’s attorney made an offer to help pay for damages.

“How can you make an offer when we just started calling contractors? I guess there were a couple of storms in Meridian that messed up many things, so it was hard to contact contractors. What are you basing this off or on? You can’t assess because of the debris,” said Andrepont.

We reached out to the Meridian Public School System for comment, but no one has returned our calls.

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