The Girl who Lived

I. The Tragedy

Hermes passenger bus falls from cliff, killing 40

Autumn Vale City - Forty people died last August 2, 2019 when a bus plunged off a cliff in Amber District.

Thirty-five people were instantly killed when the bus fell. Six others were taken to the hospital but five of them were dead upon arrival, the head supervisor of Apollo Medical Hospital said in a statement.

The official Autumn Vale News Agency reported that the bus manned by Walter Oliveros, one of the fatalities, was headed to Spring View City.

"The bus was carrying forty passengers and it fell into a ravine more than thirty meters deep near a forest park on Friday night," Officer Allen Casidsid of Amber District police station told AVNA.

"All the victims were found inside the destroyed bus," Casidsid said. "It was difficult to get them out because of the torrential rain and strong winds."

Police identified the only survivor as Amity Villamor, the daughter of the city mayor, Prescott Villamor. Sustaining injuries on different parts of her body, the girl lived but was reported to be in coma.

"Amity's survival is a miracle. But I can't be truly happy because many families lost their loved ones that tragic night. Autumn Vale, let us grieve with them," Mayor Villamor said in an interview.

Police continued the investigation and concluded that the brakes may have stopped working, causing the bus to swerve and slam through the crash barrier on that rainy night.

But Officer Raul Montero, the city police spokesperson, insisted that the accident was a result of driver error.

Government data for road deaths in Autumn Vale showed that the said event currently holds the record as the accident with the highest death toll in the city's entire history.