Indiana Bus Crash: Youth Pastor, Pregnant Wife, Chaperone Died After Bus Overturned on Interstate
The couple was expecting their second child next month, a church official said.
July 28, 2013— -- A youth pastor of an Indianapolis church and his pregnant wife were among the three victims who died when a bus heading back from a Michigan youth camp overturned coming off an interstate, a church leader said.
Chad and Courtney Phelps were expecting their second child next month, Colonial Hills Baptist Church deacon Jeff Leffew said today at a news conference. Chad Phelps is the son of the church's senior pastor, Charles Phelps.
Tonya Weindorf, a mother of five who was chaperoning the trip to the youth camp, also died in the crash, according to The Associated Press.
"Our church grieves now. We grieve the fact that they're not here now. We miss them," Leffew said.
Dozens were injured onboard the charter bus returning from a trip to Camp CoBeAc in Prudenville, Mich., when it smashed into a retaining wall near an exit ramp on Interstate 456 and flipped on its side.
Chad and Courtney Phelps' 2-year-old son, Chase, was on board the bus at the time of the accident.
The toddler was injured in the crash, but IU Health spokeswoman Sally Winter said he was released from the hospital today, the AP reported.
Bus driver Dennis Maurer, 68, told officials the bus' brakes failed and he was unable to stop the vehicle from colliding into a raised median and overturning, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report stated.
The bus was carrying around 37 passengers, many of whom were teens.
The church thanked supporters for their "tremendous outpouring of love and strength" in wake of the deadly crash on its Facebook page.
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