It's been a year since the fatal plunge of Bus 5037. Today I covered the ceremony at Lee High School. Where faculty members released balloons for each one of the girls who were killed in the crash.
The day was a somber one. It didn't really hit me until I saw the video again. Every time I see the video from November 20, 2006 all I can think about is that cold November day. I stood out in front of Huntsville Hospital watching all the victims and survivors being brought to the hospital. Then their families rushing in to find them.
It was very sad. And one of the hardest stories I've ever had to cover. I'll never forget that day of reporting. I got a little choked up tonight just watching it all again.
I will tell you what I love though. When I see some of the survivors out in the community, and their families and I get to talk to them. One of the girls, Patrice Gopher, I saw her about 6 months later, it was so heart warming to see her out of the hospital bed. She was a survivor I interviewed the day after the accident, who was in such high spirits. When I saw her 6 months later she carried with her that same twinkle and sparkle, she had when she was fighting to recover.
I grew close to some of the parents this past year. And I cried at the funerals I covered.
Tiffany Buckner, a Lee High School senior, put it best today. "This day is an important day to know that we haven't forgot them," said Buckner. "We're never going to forget them. You don't have to forget them in order to move on."
So today, even though it brings back hard memories, it's also moving on with the past.
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