1 Dead After Bus With High School Cheerleaders Collides With 18-Wheeler

A small school bus carrying a group of high school cheerleaders from a football game collided with an 18-wheeler in West Texas late Friday night, killing one passenger and leaving two in critical condition, officials said Saturday.

The Iraan-Sheffield Independent School District bus was carrying six cheerleaders and two cheerleader sponsors, when the 18-wheeler slammed into it on Interstate 20 in Howard County, said Iraan-Sheffield School District Superintendent Kevin Allen.

The fatality was Elizabeth Pope, 52, a cheerleader sponsor who also ran a computer lab in the district's elementary school, according to The Associated Press.

The seven injured people were hospitalized following the crash: As of Saturday afternoon, four had been treated and released. A spokesman for University Medical Center in Lubbock said three remained hospitalized - two in critical and one in satisfactory condition.

According to KMID, an ABC affiliate in Odessa, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the collision

ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman, Matthew Foster and Brendan Rand contributed to this report.