A child who survived the crash now drives a school bus. He is one of many whose lives unfolded in surprising ways.  View chapter 1

School bus driver Duane Harms begins his morning route on Dec. 14, 1961.  View chapter 2

Children board the bus and choose seats — a life-or-death decision.  View chapter 3

In the nation, in Colorado and in the farming community of Auburn, 1961 was a time of great change.  View chapter 4

An explosive collision kills 20 children, and grief descends on Auburn.  View chapter 5

The Fords turn to family, faith and horses as they learn how to live without Jimmy, the oldest boy.  View chapter 6

Juanita and Art Larson's memories of their lost son fill them with joy.  View chapter 7

Prosecutor Bill Bohlender questions Duane Harms, and a court hearing is held without the bus driver.  View chapter 8

Did Duane Harms stop at the crossing? His manslaughter trial tries to answer that question.  View chapter 9

Though Duane Harms is acquitted of manslaughter, he lives in such fear that he moves his family to California. But most people remember him fondly.  View chapter 10

Sisters Colleen Yetter Lackey and LaDean Yetter Long didn't lose any relatives in the crash, but they grieved deeply over lost friends.  View chapter 11

Less than two months after losing Mark and Kathy in the crash, the Brantner family faces another tragedy.  View chapter 12

Two dark-haired, brown-eyed girls — Luis Lozano's sister and daughter — shape his life and his faith.  View chapter 13

Two men who loved 8-year-old April Melody Freeman view her death through different lenses.  View chapter 14

Alice Larson Richardson could not escape reminders of Dec. 14, 1961.  View chapter 15

Glen Ford finds himself driving a school bus 45 years after surviving the train-bus crash that killed his older brother.  View chapter 16

Duane Harms didn't change his name or kill himself.  View chapter 17

The Paxtons and the Heimbucks both lost their only two girls in the crash.  View chapter 18

Bob Brantner, who lost two siblings in the bus crash and a brother in a car accident two months later, is accused of killing his wife in 1992.  View chapter 19

Engineer Herbert F. Sommers is at the throttle of a train in another deadly crash in Adams County.  View chapter 20

Jerry Hembry, the oldest student on the bus, pushes forward through Vietnam, an ugly divorce and a chemical explosion that maims him.  View chapter 21

Vicky Munson Allmer and her brothers survived the bus crash, but later losses in life nearly engulfed her.  View chapter 22

Bob Brantner goes on trial for the murder of his wife. She died on the anniversary of the bus crash.  View chapter 23

Bus driver Duane Harms recounts the failing mental health of his wife and the ordeal of committing her to an institution.  View chapter 24

Sometimes what's most surprising is what people don't go through after a tragedy.  View chapter 25

Jack Mitchell never recovered from the death of his adopted daughter, Sherry, while the girl's mother moved forward but struggled through adversity.  View chapter 26

Cheryl Brown defied a doctor's prediction that she would never walk again.  View chapter 27

Nancy Alles ended up in a body cast after the accident, but she wouldn't give up on being home for Christmas.  View chapter 28

Four women born after the accident have only stories and mementos of their siblings who died in 1961.  View chapter 29

A grandson comes to live with the Smocks, giving them the joy of a boy in the house after losing their son in the crash.  View chapter 30

Carolyn Baxter Tucker credits a judge who sent her to reform school for saving her life in many ways.  View chapter 31

Time changes everything for some people and nothing for others.  View chapter 32

Those touched by the tragedy move their lives forward in different ways.  View chapter 33

The story of the bus crash in Greeley has opened a path to healing for many families affected by the tragedy.  View Epilogue