A 35-year old man from Mobile, Alabama was killed this week when he drove his sport utility vehicle the wrong way down a busy highway, striking a Baldwin Rural Transportation System (BRATS) bus head on. The Spanish Fort Police department is investigating Monday’s crash that killed Shawn Bradshaw Wiggins and injured several bus passengers and the bus driver. So far they have determined that Wiggins was driving his black Chevy Blazer SUV the wrong way down the highway at the time of the crash, but they have been unable to determine whether that was due to a problem with his vehicle or whether Wiggins was in some way impaired. They are examining the vehicle and awaiting medical reports.
The driver of the BRATS bus is Ray Mayo. He is reportedly in his mid-sixties and has been driving for the regional service for a few years. He is in stable condition with a broken sternum. Wiggins was pronounced dead on the scene and a dozen people were taken to different local area hospitals. According to Spanish Ford Police Chief David Edgar, “Vehicles hit head on. There were twelve people that were transported to local hospitals including Thomas Hospital, Mobile Infirmary and USA Medical Center.”
The roadway where the accident took place is one that is used by many people every day, and the accident took place just after the Monday afternoon rush hour at 5:30 p.. . According to Tonya Bore, who drives the road all the time, “I hate to think about it cause I have grandkids, and they could have been involved. It could have been my family.” The bus was reportedly carrying people home from work, traveling between Mobile and the Eastern Shore. Most of the riders were identified as being between the ages of 40 and 65 years old.
According to Taylor Rider, Director of Transportation for the Baldwin County Commission, “We’ve dispatched personnel to all three hospitals to check on the injured and try to get their families notified and our condolences go out to the family of the deceased and our prayers are with those who are injured on the bus.”