“‘WE SAW IT HAPPEN… AND EVERYTHING CHANGED IN SECONDS’” A grieving community in Montgomery County is coming together after a devastating school bus crash — with parents now sharing what they witnessed in the moments before and after the tragedy. Tears, embraces, and quiet conversations filled the gathering as families tried to process what happened. But one family speaking out has drawn particular attention — describing a sequence of moments that many are only now beginning to understand.

Members of the Montgomery County community are mourning the deaths of two middle school students after a bus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Carroll County Friday.

People gathered at Kenwood Middle School on Saturday, March 28 to remember Zoe and Arianna, the two eighth-graders who died following the crash. There were many tears shed and hugs shared, but being together helped community members grieve and understand what led up to the crash.

The incident happened around noon on Friday, March 27, while bus was traveling from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville to the Toyota Hub City Grand Prix Greenpower USA Race at the Jackson Rockabilly Stadium, officials said.

Xaviel Lugo and his wife, Rosalee Lugo, were driving behind the bus, which their daughter was riding, along with 24 other students and five adults.

“They had spent all year building a car, a race car, from the ground up,” Xaviel said.

However, the students’ excitement about racing their homemade cars took a deadly turn at the intersection of Highway 70 and Cedar Grove in Carroll County.

According to Tennessee Highway Patrol, the school bus was involved in a crash with a Tennessee Department of Transportation dump truck and a Chevrolet Trailblazer. Two students died at the scene and at least seven people were reportedly injured.

“I swerved out the way from all the debris and into the grass area, parked it as quickly as I was able to,” Xaviel recalled. “My wife and I jumped out the car. She went straight for the bus, and I was calling 911 to get emergency services out as quickly as possible.”

Before emergency crews arrived, the couple said they jumped into action and helped the students get to safety.

“One of the first boys, Wesley, he was amazing,” Xaviel explained. “I don’t know if he was hurt or anything, but as soon as we were able to get him out the bus, you didn’t even have to tell him. He knew exactly what he had to do, and that was to help his classmates.”

Xaviel said he was able to find and save his own daughter from the bus, adding that she was one of the students flown to a hospital due to the nature of her injuries. Even though she’s still getting treatment, she’s expected to be okay.

“My daughter saw one of the girls that passed away… I just wish she never would have experienced that,” Xaviel told News 2.

Ashley Bourne said her son was also on the bus and called her after the crash, which is something that will haunt her.

“He went to turn the camera in FaceTime, and that’s when I saw the bus, and that’s where the panic kind of set in,” Bourne described. “My son, when he said he jumped out the back of it — it was about an eight-foot drop.”

Her son reportedly suffered a concussion following the incident.

The night after the deadly crash, the Montgomery County community came together at Kenwood Middle School to pray and support those who were grieving. People lit candles, set up balloons, and brought stuffed animals to create a vigil honoring the girls who died, Arianna and Zoe.

“I definitely want to say that I’m praying for everybody that was involved, especially those families that lost those beautiful girls,” Bourne said.

Xaviel said Clarksville is strong and comes together in times of need, such as this.

“I don’t know how I would have handled that if it was my daughter, and so we have to support them and be there and have resources for other kids to be able to talk and cry and let it out and support each other and just be there for them and let them process it in their own way,” Xaviel explained.