DARKE COUNTY — Community members gathered to remember three people who were killed in a fiery crash in Darke County on Friday morning.
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The candlelight prayer vigil took place at the Darke County Fairgrounds.
One of the three people killed in the crash has been identified as Chris Bemis, 63, of St. Marys.
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The people involved died after a work van crossed the center line on State Route 49 and slammed into a car and a school transportation bus.
Bemis was driving that Spirit EMS transportation bus.
News Center 7’s Gabrielle Enright spoke with Spirit EMS President & CEO Brian Hathaway about Bemis.
Hathaway said he lived in Marysville and worked in the fire service before he started driving for his company.
For the past two years, Bemis had been taking kids with disabilities back and forth to school.
“He loved those kids, and all of his heart, and he would always come in on a regular basis and tell us how things went with them that day and truly, truly how important they were,” Hathaway said.
As previously reported by News Center 7, the Darke County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t identified the two other people killed in this crash.
The crash happened around 7:25 a.m. at SR-49 and Pitsburgh-Laura Road.
Upon arrival, deputies found three vehicles. The van and car involved were fully engulfed in flames.
An initial report revealed that a van hauling snow-removal equipment was going north on SR 49 when it crossed over the center line and hit a Spirit EMS transport van head-on, according to Sheriff Mark Whittaker.
After hitting the bus, the van hit another car.
Two men were inside the van at the time of the crash. Whittaker said they were not able to get out and were pronounced dead at the scene. They have not been identified at this time.
The driver of the bus, Bemis, had to be extricated. He was flown to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
There were two additional people on the bus, a student and a 62-year-old aide from New Madison. They were transported by medics to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the car, an 18-year-old Arcanum girl, was also treated for injuries at the scene.
Brian Hathaway, owner of Spirit EMS, confirmed to News Center 7 that the student was 12 years old and was being transported from their home in the Tri Village Local School District to Franklin Monroe Local Schools.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone involved in this terrible tragedy,” Hathaway said. “We are devastated by the loss of our teammate and deeply saddened for the other families who are grieving today.”
Whittaker added that the weather was not believed to be a factor in the crash.
“Unfortunately, a tragedy has unfolded here on our roadways, on State Route 49 in Darke County, once again,” Whittaker said.
The crash remains under investigation.
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