[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR VICTIMS OF WOODMORE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUS CRASH

  (Mr. FLEISCHMANN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to offer a moment of 
silence. On November 21, while many of us were preparing for the 
Thanksgiving holiday, tragedy once again struck my hometown of 
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
  Woodmore Elementary School is a beautiful elementary school; young, 
vibrant children, all so precious. There was a tragic schoolbus crash 
that happened that day in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The crash took the 
lives of six young children: Keonte Wilson, Cor'Dayja Jones, Zyaira 
Mateen, D'Myunn Brown, Zoie Nash, and Zyanna Harris. In addition, 
several other children were severely injured. Many are still in 
critical condition.
  I know I can speak for all of us, including my dear friends who have 
joined me from the Tennessee delegation, when I say that we are 
absolutely heartbroken over this horrific tragedy. Nothing I can say 
tonight can diminish the gravity of the loss that our community has 
suffered.
  But I must thank the first responders, the Chattanooga Police 
Department, the local officials, and especially the staff, the doctors 
at Children's Hospital at Erlanger, for their immediate and 
compassionate response to this tragedy.
  My brothers and sisters in the House, I went with our Governor to see 
the care and treatment that these children were getting. One young lady 
about to go up to surgery gave me the thumbs up.
  At a time of such tragic loss, these precious lives were lost, and so 
many are forever hurt. Please join me now in a moment of silence for 
the victims, for their families, and for our Chattanooga community.

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