New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Dawne Massey said in a statement early Sunday that department officials responded at 8:53 p.m. Saturday to a report that a Cessna aircraft carrying three people had crashed into Lake Ponchatrain near New Orleans Lakefront Airport. Louisiana State Police/Handout via Reuters

St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference. "The bus driver lost control of the bus, struck a fire truck, veered across the right lane, striking other vehicles, then veered and struck three firefighters, who, all three, were thrown over the guardrail," Matey said.
A bus carrying volunteers crashes into emergency vehicles responding to an earlier accident near New Orleans killing two, including the St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief, and injuring 43 more.