Indianapolis church camp bus crash: 3 killed, 26 injured

Update 1:35pm ET

Three people were killed and 26 injured, several critically, when a bus carrying teenagers back from a church camp overturned in Indianapolis Saturday.

The driver of the bus, 68-year-old Dennis Maurer, told police that the brakes failed as the bus rolled down an interstate exit ramp.

Witnesses told authorities that the bus appeared to be speeding as the driver turned off I-465 a few miles from its destination.

Youth pastor Chad Phelps, his pregnant wife Courtney Phelps and Tonya Weindorf, a mother of five were killed in the accident, reports The Associated Press.

Courtney Phelps was due to give birth to her second child next month.

"They're with God in heaven. We know that. Without a doubt," church deacon Jeff Leffew told reporters.

Nine teenagers, one in critical condition, were sent to Indiana University Methodist Hospital, NBC News reported. Four passengers, including one toddler, were in stable condition at Riley Hospital for Children and Indiana University Health.

The group was traveling to Colonial Hills Baptist Church in northern Indianapolis from a camp in Michigan.

A second bus, carrying a group of younger children home from the same camp, arrived at the church without incident.

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