CNN’s Lemon reports from Bus crash scene…
This morning on American Morning, CNN’s Don Lemon reported live from the scene of the charter bus accident this morning in Atlanta in which as many as six people were killed. CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta was called into Grady Hospital, where the injured were taken and where he is a doctor. CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin reports with medical updates from outside the hospital in Atlanta. A partial transcript follows…
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We’re getting some new pictures in now of the scene of the accident, the bus crash in Atlanta. We have been showing you all morning the pictures. The bus went off of the overpass and it was on its side. They righted it just a few moments ago. It looks like this is one of the first steps in being able to clear the accident scene and hopefully reopen the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 that have been shut down since that pre-dawn accident.
Meanwhile, we’re going to go now to CNN’s Don Lemon at the scene. He has someone with him who actually witnessed that accident in the moments after it happened — Don.
LEMON: We do. And also, Kiran, we also have new video from the hospital. We understand our Sanjay Gupta has been called in as well to Grady Hospital. Some of the injured folks who were brought there — we’re told nine people are seriously injured. We have 20 who are walking wounded. And of course, as you reported, we have six people who died in all of this. As you reference, Kiran, Mike Morris from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just happened to be on the way to work this morning.
Mike, you said it was about 5:00, 5:30 this morning?MIKE MORRIS, WITNESS: Yes, just a little after 5:30. And I came over the hill on 35 and I could see the brake lights ahead of me, and traffic came to a stop. I got over to the side of the road. I called 911, didn’t know if anyone had called yet, and they had not gotten any calls yet. I thought at first it was a tractor-trailer, and I got out of the car, and as I was walking towards the vehicle, then I could see the emergency hatch come open and people climbing out of it. I realized it was a charter bus, and it sort of sent chills up me, because I work with a musical group that travels 10,000 miles every summer on charter buses.
LEMON: So you saw them coming out of the hatch. Give me their condition and tell what they asked you questions?
MORRIS: They didn’t really ask me anything. They all seemed dazed like maybe they had been asleep. A lot of blood, a lot of bloody faces.
LEMON: They were calling for blankets?
MORRIS: Yes, yes. Me and everybody else who had stopped, we’re trying to get the young people over to the side of the road or out of the road as they got off the bus, and the first thing one of them asked me, said I’m freezing, can you get me a blanket?
LEMON: Mike Morris from “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,” thank you so much. Don Lemon reporting here, again, six people died in this bus crash. We’re hearing that the interstate will be open soon and police will hold a press conference very shortly.
CNN was using broadband for Lemon’s live shot. I’ve seen this used countless times on CNNI for overseas coverage. But, haven’t seen it used much on domestic CNN.
Comment by Terance — March 2, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
Kiran did a good job this morning, in NY, throwing it to the various people that CNN had on the ground in Alabama and Georgia covering the bad weather and bus accidents. Meanwhile FNC was giving us live coverage of the moving of Anna Nicole Smith’s body to the airport.
Maybe the dead in Alabama and Georgia would have gotten better coverage by Fox if there were was plenty of photos showing them to be blond and buxom.
Comment by malone — March 2, 2007 @ 2:01 pm
malone,
what are u smokin’? I got up at 6:30 this morning and FNC was all over the bus crash. They also handed off for the tragedy in Alabama & Georgia, but most of the newcast was the bus crash and talking to professional people (ie information officers, hospital people. The interview with the witness on CNN was week and the reporter did not ask enough questions. Kiran in her pitch seemed more interestede that they would finally get the interstate opened….
Comment by VMart — March 2, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
You’ve been unspun malone. I think CNN and FNC both did a good job this morning.
Comment by erljr — March 2, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
Ohh malone is right that they had ANS funeral coverage this morning (live in a different time zone so i dont know around how it transalates)but it didn’t in anyway displace the coverage of the Bus crash. CNN seemingly left the ANS funeral coverage up to HLN to cover.
Comment by Sam — March 2, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
I used to be a Fox and Friends fan but lately all they have been talking about is useless information such as what ANS will be buried in. I turned them on this A.M. and they were showing the plane getting ready to leave for Bahamas. Turned to CNN and they were all over the school deaths and bus crash. No ANS whatsoever!!! Am quickly becoming a CNN fan…FoxNews is more like watching Entertainment Tonight!
Comment by Lisa — March 2, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
VMart thinks fox and friends is a newscast. Vmart let me ask U, what are you smokin?
Comment by Me — March 2, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
It was as if fox news didn’t have any news people in the area. Leave the news reporting to the news networks, not the abecedarians who seem to litter the corridors at fox.
Comment by Pete — March 3, 2007 @ 11:25 am
I agree with #6. CNN is the only place for
news in the morning. I was also impressed with
Don Lemon on the scene.
Comment by futrue tv mogul — March 4, 2007 @ 9:18 pm