Grieving schoolchildren in Minnesota.

By ABBY SIMON AND CHAO XIONG,
Star Tribune Staff Writers

COTTONWOOD, MINN. -- A day of grieving and investigation unfolded today after a school bus accident in southwestern Minnesota left four students dead and several others injured.
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The attempt at healing began with a prayer service late this morning at Lakeview School.

The Department of Public Safety released the identities of those killed this afternoon. They are: Hunter Javens, 9, Cottonwood; his brother Jesse Javens, 13; Emilee Olson, 9, Cottonwood; and Reed Stevens, 12, Marshall.

Eight students remained hospitalized this afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Marshall, one in critical condition, authorities said during a news conference in Cottonwood. They are in grades 5 through 9.

The drivers of the van and the pickup truck suffered injuries that were not life threatening. They are also hospitalized.

The van driver was identified as Alianiss N. Morales, 23, of Minneota, Minn. The pickup driver was James M. Hancock, 45, of Marshall.

The State Patrol declined to reveal any details about the crash. An official from the National Transportation Safety Board was on the way to the state to assist in the investigation.

At the news conference today, Superintendent Johnson said that "when a tragedy like this impacts a community, it's tough to even come up with the words to describe it."

He said that the demand for grief counseling at the school today "was overwhelming." School will resume Thursday, and a memorial service is scheduled for Thursday night in the gym.

Johnson also read a statement from Kandy Stevens, Reed's mother, saying that "she wants people to know that Reed was a young man who loved God, his country and his family. We know that he is with the Lord, and we ask all parents to give their kids a hug tonight and every night."

Carol Kompelien, 61, who knows families of three of the fatalities, said today that "we're all in shock right now. I don't think anybody knows what to think or what to do next.

"It'll take a long time to recover from this. Oh, heavens, there's no time limit on that. It'll be forever. It will never be the same."

The 53-year-old bus driver, Dennis Devereaux, issued a statement today through his wife, Kathy: "We would like everyone to keep the children and their families in our thoughts and prayers."

Asked about Devereaux's effort to get kids off the bus safely, she said her husband's "highest priority is the well being of the children, and he was doing what he needed to do at the time to assure the safety of the children."

Kompelien said she knows Dennis Devereaux, adding that he has a daughter who attends the school. He's also a part-time janitor at the school.

"He's probably the most conscientious bus driver we have," she said. "If the speed limit says 55, he isn't going to go 56."


The crash happened about a mile south of Cottonwood at 3:30 p.m., said Lt. Mark Peterson of the State Patrol. The bus was carrying 28 students from Lakeview, a K-12 school, was driving south on Hwy. 23 when it collided with the van going east on County Road 24, he said. The impact tipped the bus onto its side, and it struck or fell on the pickup truck, witnesses said. The drivers of the van and truck were both alone in their vehicles, Peterson said.

He said an intense investigation was underway and it was not clear who, if anyone, was at fault.

Carol Kompelien said she travels that intersection regularly, adding that there are train tracks across Hwy. 24 and drivers should slow down enough that they don't blow through the intersection, as this van's driver is suspected of doing.

State Patrol officials today, when asked, declined to say whether Morales had a valid driver's license.