PRESTONSBURG – A tire may be a simple object made out of rubber, but a tire unearthed in Prestonsburg could be much more than that, according to Michael Crisp, director of “The Very Worst Thing,” a documentary about the 1958 school bus disaster.

“I was contacted by a gentleman in Floyd County named Joseph Sammons, and he said that he owns the property where they pulled the school bus into the backyard,” Crisp said. “He said that in his yard a few years ago, he found the school bus tire and the sliding door while doing some landscaping, but he covered them both back up. Mr. Sammons bought the property from Ottis Cesco, who lost two children in the crash.”

According to Crisp, Sammons decided to uncover the tire after watching the debut of “The Very Worst Thing” at the Mountain Arts Center in February.

“He and his wife saw the film and they asked us if we would like to come out and see the bus door and tire,” Crisp said. “We were able to locate the tire, but not the bus door. We’ve since cleaned it up a bit and have been investigating if it’s the bus tire or not, and all preliminary indications are that it is. This is fairly big news because the fate of the bus after it was brought up from the river has always been a mystery, and there was a popular belief that it was buried on the riverbank after being extricated from the river. “

It was also reported that the bus was destroyed after being transported out of the area, leading to speculation that a malfunction in the bus could have caused the accident.

Crisp hopes to donate the tire to the Floyd County Rescue Squad. The squad was formed in response to the bus disaster.

“Our intent is to find out if it’s indeed a piece of the bus and then we’d like to donate it to the rescue squad or some kind of historical group that would be interested in preserving and displaying it. We might bring it with us to a few of the upcoming showings of the film, including the next time we’re at the MAC.”

The film will be shown again at the Mountain Arts Center on June 25.