Bus Accident Attorney

Four people, including three minor children, were evaluated for medical issues following a crash involving a school bus that took place on the morning of Tuesday, April 28, 2015, when a school bus and pick-up truck collided in Hanover County, Virginia near the intersection of Bethany Church Road and State Route 33. The crash took place when the school bus operator slammed into a mid-2000s model pick-up that was stopped and attempting to make a left-hand turn onto another roadway. The bus driver faces charges related to following the pick-up too closely.

The bus, which was carrying students to South Anna Elementary School, was reportedly going westward on State Route 33 (on a segment of the highway called  Mountain Road) when it came upon the stopped truck but was unable to halt in time to avoid a collision. All injuries sustained in this crash are reported as being minor, with all wounded parties being treated and released shortly following the collision. Only four children were aboard the bus at the time of the collision, and all crash victims are expected to make a complete recovery.

First responders took no note of serious injuries of anyone on board either vehicle at the time of the crash, though minor accident-related pain was reported by the driver of the truck and all children aboard the bus at the time of the collision were evaluated and treated on scene. Although the school bus driver was cited with a moving violation in relation to the crash, it is unknown whether vocational penalties will be faced in relation to the crash.

According to statistics released by the Virginia Highway Safety Office, more than 350 school bus occupants were injured during traffic collisions during the 2013 calendar year, the last year for which statistics were made available.

A bus in Nepal lost control and veered off the road into a ravine early in the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2015, causing the deaths of at least 17 people on board at the time of the accident. Twelve of these deaths are alleged to have taken place on scene, while five deaths occurred later in area hospitals. The accident occurred near Nagdhunga, an area a few miles westward from the nation’s capital city of Kathmandu

The bus was a double-decker bus, transporting around 50 people on a pilgrimage hailing from the Gujarat area of neighboring India. The injured were reportedly taken to seven area hospitals. Reports have stated that 30 people were injured in the crash. The condition of all the injured people has not been released, although four are said to be in critical condition and fighting for their lives.

The driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle on the Prithvi roadway when the bus swerved over a gorge, plunging nearly 1,000 feet down before landing on the valley floor below. The roads in Nepal are notoriously dangerous and ill-kept, and overcrowding of buses is a known issue in the region. Authorities in the area have yet to state whether the bus was filled beyond capacity at the time of the crash, and whether such a factor may have played a part in the bus crash.

Nepali roads are notorious for their danger, as many of the roadways in Nepal are ill-kept and lacking in proper safety protocols. Bus travel in the country is especially perilous, as many buses fill themselves beyond legally advised capacity, often with passengers riding atop the bus or hanging alongside the bus, even as the bus is stuffed full within. This causes a weight differential that can make an otherwise stable bus roll over at an alarmingly easy rate.

A school bus transporting three young students in Lake County, Ohio collided with a light-colored Pontiac on the morning of Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Although none of the children on board the bus were hurt in the accident, the driver of the car that struck the bus did sustain injuries. The accident took place at the corner of Meister Road and Lakeshore Boulevard in the city of Mentor. Five people, including two adults and three children, were on the bus at the time of the crash. The Pontiac’s driver was reportedly the sole occupant of the car.

The driver of the car, the bus driver and an aide on the school bus at the time of the incident were all taken to area hospitals. The bus driver and the aide to the driver were taken via ambulance to Hillcrest Hospital, located in the nearby Mayfield Heights neighborhood. The car’s driver was reportedly air lifted to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cincinnati to receive further medical care after being taken via ambulance to a local medical facility. Her exact condition and whether she is expected to survive her injuries is not known.

The driver of the automobile is reported as being a female, aged 38. The crash allegedly took place when the Pontiac pulled out in front of the bus, causing the bus to hit the car’s front end from the side in a T-bone collision. The front of the car showed severe damages, and the driver of the vehicle had to be pried out via mechanical means. There was some damage to the front end of the school bus, but it was far less extensive than the damage incurred to the Pontiac.

Witnesses stated that the intersection has seen its fair share of collisions in the past, mostly related to poor weather conditions. However, weather was not suspected of being a causal factor in this crash. There is a blind curve near the intersection of Meister Road and Lakeshore Boulevard, which may also contribute to the greater-than-usual number of traffic accidents along this stretch of road. It is not known whether drugs or alcohol played a contributing role in this accident, and the collision remains under investigation at this time. No word yet as to whether charges will be filed as a result of this incident.

A late 1990s model Buick Century rear-ended a school bus late in the afternoon of Thursday, April 2, 2015 in Henry County, Georgia, costing an 8-year-old girl her life. Three people were traveling in the Buick at the time of the crash: a father and two children, a male aged 7 and a female 8 years of age. The children were restrained in the back seat at the time of the accident. However, the impact was such that the top half of the passenger side of the Buick was crushed under the bus, causing the death of the little girl in the back passenger seat.

The bus was reportedly driving eastward on Georgia State Route 20 when it slowed and stopped to release a passenger. The bus enabled its flashing light system to alert drivers of its intent to stop. However, the Buick was allegedly not able to stop in time, making a last-second swerve to avoid a collision, but to no avail. The driver’s side of the car was spared from deadly damage, but the passenger side of the car sustained severe damage on the crash.

The young male and the driver of the car both reported injuries resulting from the collision, but these injuries are not suspected of being life-threatening. No students on board the bus have reported injuries beyond bumps and bruises. It is not yet known whether substance abuse may have been a factor in this collision. Investigators have stated that it is possible that the Buick’s driver was fatigued and fell asleep while driving, thus causing the deadly crash.

The case is expected to go in front of a grand jury in the coming weeks pending completion of the investigation by local authorities. During this process, the father operating the Buick will learn whether or not he will be charged with a crime in relation to the accident that ended in the tragic death of a young child.

An ambulance transporting a patient was involved in a collision with a school bus on the morning of Tuesday, March 21, 2015, leaving all three occupants of the ambulance injured. The crash took place as the bus was traveling westward on Indiana State Road 130, near the intersection with County Road 625 in Union Township, just southeast of Hobart. The ambulance was driving southward on County Road 625 when the vehicle allegedly ran a stop sign and smashed into the bus.

A dozen people on board the school bus have also reported injuries and underwent medical treatment both at the scene and at area hospitals. The driver of the ambulance was operating his vehicle on a suspended license—the third such suspension on his driving record. His identity has not been released at this time, but it has been reported that he is 23 years of age and lives in Griffith, Indiana.

More than 60 people were traveling on the Valparaiso School District bus at the time of the accident, only three of whom were adults. All injured parties aboard the bus were children, students of nearby Memorial Elementary School in the fifth grade on their way to a field trip. All parents have been notified and none of the injuries sustained during the collision are said to be life-threatening. School district officials have stated that all injured children were treated and subsequently released to their parents’ care. All uninjured students were taken to school via alternate methods of transport.

Local authorities have reported that the ambulance driver has been issued a ticket for failing to yield as well as numerous other citations, and bystanders stated that the ambulance did not have its lights or sirens on at the time it ran the stop sign and collided with the bus. The ambulance that caused the crash was owned and operated by Illinois-based Superior Ambulance Service. Police have stated that the ambulance driver was not arrested, as none of the citations he was given were “arrestable offenses,” including driving with a suspended license. The investigation remains ongoing, and it is not yet known whether charges will be filed as a result of this accident.

Seventy people were injured and at least three dozen killed in a crash between three buses and an ice truck in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, March 23, 2015 in Huarmey, Peru. Huarmey is located some 225 miles northward of Lima, the nation’s capital city, in Ancash. Of the three buses involved in the crash, at least two were double-decker buses carrying a multitude of passengers.

Reports state that one bus, run by Murga Serrano, swerved into an oncoming lane of traffic for unknown reasons, causing it to smash headlong into the other two buses and the ice truck at an unknown rate of speed. Bus travel is essential to daily Peruvian life, being a form of transit used by many commuters on a day-to-day basis. The mass collision took place on Pan American Highway, a thoroughfare used by many Peruvian people for north-south travel throughout the extensive country.

One of the buses—though it is unknown whether it is the vehicle that reportedly caused the crash—was carrying a slew of congregants from the Worldwide Missionary Movement. It is not yet known whether the individuals traveling aboard this bus were Peruvian nationals. An investigation is currently underway, with preliminary findings pointing at the possibility of driver fatigue being the cause of the swerving or drifting that brought on the deadly crash.

News photos paint a grisly tale of damage, with the buses torn asunder, seats exposed. Half a dozen of the wounded were airlifted by helicopter from the scene of the crash, and others were transported by way of emergency ground vehicles to area hospitals to receive medical care. The exact nature of the injuries and survival expectancy has not yet been released to the press. The Murga Serrano bus was reportedly split in two upon impact, leaving victims scattered across the pavement as it smashed into the three other vehicles before finally coming to a halt.

According to crash data released by the World Health Organization, Peru was host to more than 4,600 traffic deaths in 2010. Peruvian roadways are notoriously dangerous for drivers, in part due to poor pavement maintenance and other factors. Driver fatigue, such as that suspected to have played a role in this fatal crash, is a significant problem worldwide in terms of traffic accident causes. It is not yet known whether charges will be filed as a result of this horrific accident.

A school bus was preparing to drop off students on 206 County Road in Southampton, Massachusetts on the midafternoon of Tuesday, January 13, 2015 when a car traveling on the other side of the road slammed into another vehicle in front of it, then swerved, ending with a collision with the bus. The bus was escorting 31 children home at the time of the accident. No serious injuries have been reported as a result of the accident.

The bus reportedly was slowing to a stop and had turned on its flashing lights. By law, all motorists traveling on the road with a school bus whose stopping lights are on are required to stop and wait until the lights have ceased flashing to resume travel. One car had stopped for the flashing lights, but the driver of the vehicle behind it apparently did not see that the vehicle had stopped and rear-ended the car veering into the opposite lane and slamming into the school bus.

The driver of the stopped vehicle reported experiencing pain following the rear-end collision and was transported by first responders to an area hospital for medical evaluation. The car that rear-ended the stopped vehicle and crashed into the bus was transporting two young children at the time of the collision, and neither they nor the driver was harmed in the incident.

The car that hit the bus sustained severe front-end damage, and the vehicle it struck before colliding with the bus was also damaged in the accident, but was able to be safely operated following the crash. The bus did sustain some front-end damage, but was still operable following the incident and was able to be driven away from the site of the crash.

None of the drivers’ identities have been released to the public, and police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident at this time.

Highway 60 was the scene of a big crash between big vehicles on the morning of Wednesday, January 7, 2015. Two semi-trucks and a tour bus reportedly collided on the eastbound portion of the freeway near the Seventh Avenue exit, leading to multiple lane closures and the hospitalization of more than a dozen people. The accident is reported as having happened as a result of one semi-truck striking the other, causing that truck to collide into a nearby tour bus.

All injuries resulting from the crash are reported to have been minor. It is not known exactly how many passengers were on board the bus at the time of the accident, but estimates have stated that around 20 people may have been on board the bus when it was hit by the big rig truck. The bus was allegedly en route to a San Diego reservation casino at the time the incident took place. The bus was reportedly owned and operated by Da Zhen Travel, and this is not the first incident the company has been involved in. A 2013 crash in Irwindale resulted in several injuries following what crash investigators described as a sudden and unsafe change in lanes.

Nearly two dozen people are said to have been hurt as a result of the crash on Highway 60, with thirteen of them now being treated for their injuries in area hospitals. Several lanes of the freeway were closed for the rest of the morning, leaving only two lanes for heavy traffic to flow through, but all lanes of traffic were finally reopened in the early afternoon. Traffic was backed up for miles around following the incident. Both big rigs sustained major damages, and the bus was damaged at the front end but did not overturn.

It is not known whether drugs or alcohol may have played a role in the crash, nor is it known whether charges may be filed as a result of the accident. Investigators are continuing to probe into the details of the crash at this time.

A school bus laden with middle school students crashed into a utility pole early in the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014, leaving 11 students and the driver injured. The bus was reportedly attempting to dodge a white SUV that cut right in front of the bus in the school parking lot during early-morning drop off hours at Shue Medill Middle School on Capital Trail in Newark, Delaware. The evasive maneuver resulted in the bus smashing into a light pole. Of the two dozen people on board at the time of the incident, half of them reported injuries, including the driver of the bus, 60-year-old Arlene A. Holden.

The SUV allegedly sped away from the scene of the accident following the near-collision with the bus. The bus itself had driven partially up the utility pole into which it had crashed, causing both front wheels to leave the ground and leaving the bus with moderate damage and the pole with severe damage. Paramedics rushed from fire departments in the area to treat the injured on site and ambulances later transported all injured parties to area hospitals—Ms. Holden to Christiana Hospital, and the students to the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. No injuries were reported as being life-threatening, and most injuries were described as soft-tissue-related or complaints of back pain.

Holden has been confirmed as having had her seatbelt properly fastened at the time of the crash. The identity of the person driving the white SUV has not been established, and Delaware State Police are continuing to investigate the incident in order to see if that information can be obtained. It is not known whether there is parking lot surveillance footage of the incident, or whether charges will be filed as a result of the crash. All parents of students on board the bus at the time of the crash, both those who were injured and those who did not report injuries, were informed of the incident.

A collision between a truck and a bus in downtown Columbus, Ohio on the morning of Friday, Dec. 12, 2014 has left four people injured and claimed the life of one young person, now identified as 21-year-old Stephanie Fibelkorn. Fibelkorn was fulfilling her last day of internship with the City of Columbus as a student with nearby Ohio State University when the crash took place.

Witnesses reported seeing the truck driving erratically, weaving recklessly in and out of traffic lanes as it traveled with a blown-out tire at high speeds. The truck was a Chevrolet pick-up being driven by 61-year-old Terrance Trent, who allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Broad Street and High Street before slamming into the bus. Both vehicles skidded on the road and slammed into a group of pedestrians on the street corner. Fibelkorn was one of those pedestrians.

Fibelkorn died on impact, and the remaining pedestrians were transported to an area hospital to be treated for their injuries. Trent’s passenger, a 51-year-old woman by the name of Mamie Adams, was taken to a nearby hospital and was reported to be in critical condition following the accident. Trent himself was reported to be in stable condition at a different hospital. Four students were aboard the bus at the time of the accident, but none of them have reported any injuries.

The investigation as to the cause of the crash continues, and it is not yet known whether drugs or alcohol may have played a role in this crash. Police are attempting to confirm eyewitness accounts of Trent’s reckless driving behavior just prior to the crash, but are unable to report any findings at this time. One witness called 911 after seeing a similar pickup truck smashing into other cars, sideswiping them as it sped along Broad Street. Investigators cannot currently confirm or deny whether this truck was indeed the truck being driven by Terrance Trent—the truck that caused the domino-effect crash that took the life of Stephanie Fibelkorn.