Updated Feb. 1, 2:20 p.m.

A chain reaction accident on the East Lucas Road bridge claimed the life of a young Princeton girl riding in a car driven by her mother, the Department of Public Safety said.
Nine students on a Princeton ISD school bus involved in the crash were unharmed, according to the PISD.
DPS Sgt. Kyle Bradford identified the victim as 9-year-old Abigail Kate Rascher, who was in the back seat of a 2015 Nissan Versa driven by her mother, Jennifer Rascher, 41, of Princeton.
The mother was taken to Medical City of McKinney with non-incapacitating injuries, the DPS said.
Bradford said four eastbound vehicles were involved in the Jan. 31 crash. The school bus was in the lead, followed by a utility van, a sedan, and a Jeep.
The preliminary DPS report said the driver of a 2013 Jeep Wrangler failed to control his speed, striking the Nissan in the rear, which caused it to hit a 2018 Chevy Express 3500 utility van.
The Jeep then struck the retaining wall and sideswiped the school bus, the DPS said.
Bradford identified the driver of the Jeep as Jose Junior Loyola, 20, of Princeton. He was transported to Medical City McKinney with minor injuries, the sergeant said.
The driver of the van, a 33-year-old Princeton man, and the 60-year-old bus driver from McKinney were unhurt.
The accident took place at 3:45 p.m. on the FM 3286 bridge as traffic was “nearly at a standstill” on the FM 3286 bridge, Bradford said.
The long bridge was closed four hours and traffic was rerouted during the investigation, snarling the evening commute for Princeton residents.
PISD Communications Coordinator Jean Ann Collins said the bus was headed east after dropping off some students on the Lucas side. “These kids were all high schoolers from either PHS or Lovelady,” she said.
Collins said the 9-year-old victim was not a PISD student.


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