MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — High school junior Katie Holmes was on the way to a Future Business Leaders of America conference in Tucson last Tuesday when, according to DPS, an SUV crashed into the school bus Holmes and about 40 others were on.
All of the passengers on the bus were taken to Tucson hospitals, with a few, including Holmes, sustaining serious injuries. There were no fatalities.
Now, about a week since the crash, Holmes is continuing her recovery at Banner University Medical Center.
As a Cambridge program participant, former swim team captain, tutor, and lover of reading and writing, Julie Holmes describes her daughter as an overachiever.
“Katie has been exceptional since she was really little.”
At 17 years old, Katie Holmes is already working towards her Associate’s Degree in Business, which her mom says she plans to complete by the time she graduates high school.
It was a business competition she was supposed to compete in last week. She and the other students and staff on the bus to the competition were traveling from Kingman, Ariz.
Her mom, Julie, was in Kingman, about 300 miles away, teaching her kindergarten class at the time of the crash.
“I got a call from an unknown number and I swiped it off, because I didn’t know who it was and I was teaching,” Julie Holmes said. “They immediately called back.”
It was her daughter, saying words no parent ever wants to hear.
“Mom, we’ve been in an accident and I’m hurt,” Julie says her daughter told her over the phone.
She says Katie has a significant loss of tissue and loss of mobility in her right arm. However, she says there is a blessing in this.
“All the children walked away from this alive, the teachers survived, Katie could have lost all mobility in her fingers,” Julie said. “While she lost all this flesh and some muscle and bone, she’s still able to move her fingers.”
Julie says they have seen an outpouring of support from both the Tucson and Kingman communities.
“The number of people who reached out to help those kids was amazing,” she said. “Even people I taught with 15, 20 years ago – everybody has messaged and been so supportive."
While in the hospital, Katie found out she qualified for the National Future Business Leaders of America conference this summer in Anaheim, CA. Her goal is to be well enough to compete in it.
“That is her heart’s desire is just to be there and achieve everything she can achieve and show everybody what she’s got,” Julie Holmes said.
Julie Holmes is encouraging people to donate blood. “If people aren’t donating, they can’t help the people who come in during an emergency,” she said.
She and her friends and family are also working to advocate for increased school bus safety measures.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
