Waltham – A solemn tribute was held on the campus of Brandeis University for the 29 students who survived Saturday night’s bus crash and the 25-year-old undergraduate who did not.
More than 100 members of the school’s community came together at the Harlan Chapel on Monday night.
Cameras were not allowed inside the event, but several students spoke afterwards about the sense of support and healing they felt.
Some of those students told Boston 25 News they had originally planned to be on the bus that crashed.
“About two hours before, we were talking about going to Boston on that bus,” said Brandeis sophomore Miles Goldstein. “It’s a bus we take all the time.”
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office also provided an update Monday evening and clarified some details in the case.
Investigators now say there were a total of 30 students on the bus including the one who died – Vanessa Mark.
According to the Middlesex DA’s Office, most of the students attend Brandeis, but there were also students from other schools.
Authorities are also correcting initial statements which indicated that the bus rolled after crashing into a tree on South Street in Waltham.
“There is no evidence that the bus rolled at the time of the crash,” stated the updated news release.
Investigators said one of the surviving passengers sustained “possibly life threatening injuries”.
It’s unclear if that is one of the students or the 57-year-old man who was driving the bus.
“There’s no other way to put it. It was an accident. A freak accident,” said Brandeis junior David Perez. “It does hit very close to home.”
The last update from Brandeis University on Monday said two students remained in the hospital and that all of the others had been released.
The bus company contracted by Brandeis, Joseph’s Transportation in Medford, has not yet commented on the investigation.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BYQIUYMAYNCIHGJ6XJVRMRGH7I.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/P3G3K3CGLDUOPVINPWMT6ETYAY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BG7SATK42FAVNHX6Q2T2QRAUNM.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/3SSKNCN47JBIDCVTNVKCJ5D5RI.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/EQFAZPITBFF37OJOA3SZAUIJZI.jpeg)