Megabus Accidents

On Friday June 28, 2013, a  federal judge tossed out a suit filed against a Portland transit agency and its bus driver, who struck five pedestrians, killing two of them.

The deadly bus accident took place back in April of 2010. The federal suit claimed that the accident  violated the victims’ constitutional rights. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman rejected that claim. Judge Mosman dismissed the case with prejudice, which means it can not be re-filed.

The bus was driven by Sandi Day. According to witnesses, Day made an illegal left turn and the 16-ton bus hit five people who were crossing the street.

Danielle Sale, 22, of Vancouver and Jeneé Hammel, 26, of Gresham, both died under the bus. Hammel’s brother, his wife, and Sale’s boyfriend were all  injured in the accident.

TriMet, the owners of the bus, fired Day after an investigation. Day was found guilty of six traffic charges, including four counts of careless driving back in 2011.

Day was sentenced by the presiding judge to pay more than $1,000 in fines, do 200 hours of community service, and complete a traffic safety course.

The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Sale, accused TriMet and Day of an “arbitrary governmental taking” of the woman’s life.

The dismissed suit alleged, “Day’s negligence behind the wheel amounted to a government employee interfering with fundamental rights implicit in the concept of an ordered liberty.”

The victims had just left a comedy club. They had the right of way in a crosswalk when Day made a courtesy stop to allow a late-night rider to get off. This stop was not an official bus stop. At this point, Day  illegally crossed a lane and turned left from Northwest Glisan Street onto Broadway.

The suit alleged, “Day chose to speed through the intersection without braking until she hit the pedestrians.”

This will not be this accident’s last day in court, as other suits are pending

David Sale, the father of Danielle Sale, and Vicki Flynn, the mother of Jeneé Hammel have all filed lawsuits against the transit agency. Those cases are still pending.

After the deadly accident, TriMet did an extensive safety review, but the lawsuits claim TiMet, “had a policy and practice of encouraging drivers to accelerate unsafely and make illegal turns.”

The complaint also accused TriMet of knowing of the hazardous blind spots for short drivers and about the unsafe courtesy stops.

TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt told local media that, “Amalgamated Transit Union is challenging Day’s termination and the matter is awaiting arbitration.” Day was hired back in October 2007.

In Louisville, Kentucky one of what may be several lawsuits has been filed against the company whose chartered bus crashed into an I-64 barrier while carrying dozens of Jefferson County Public School students on a field trip. In the suit, Commonwealth Bus Services is accused of not maintaining the bus properly.

The group was headed back from a visit to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond as part of a program that gives students a chance to visit college campuses. The crash occurred near the Jefferson-Shelby county line.

Attorney William McMurry filed the complaint in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of three victims. Included in the lawsuit is a Tennessee teenager who was on the bus because she was visiting friends in the Louisville area.

Angel Hahn of Martin of Tennessee sustained a broken back and fractures across her body. Her mother, Cynthia Runions, is one of the plaintiffs, as well as Suzanne Strong, an adult chaperone, and Strong’s daughter, Kristin Fraley. The lawsuit alleges the victims suffered “serious bodily injuries” caused by negligence. One of the parents bringing the suit was aboard the bus when it crashed. The parent suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash.

The suit was filed barely a week after the high-profile crash, when the bus loaded with high school students careened left across three lanes of traffic on Interstate 64 and hit a concrete median. Thirty high school students from Louisville, along with four adults aboard the bus were taken to hospitals.

Officials who investigated the accident believe that a front left tire gave out and deflated on the interstate, which caused the driver to veer into the emergency lane.

Commonwealth’s fleet of vehicles had not been involved in any crashes resulting in fatalities or injuries for at least two years before the Kentucky wreck, according to federal safety records.

McMurry has requested an order to preserve the bus and hire experts to inspect it. “They’re not designed to go out of control every time a tire blows. We want a team to go in there and examine the vehicle without anyone tainting the integrity of the vehicle. “There were strong indications of a suspension problem the day before in which my clients witnessed,”  McMurry told local media.

The suit seeks a jury trial. McMurry said he anticipates filing more lawsuits stemming from the crash.

In China, a bus that was carrying 36 people veered off of the road in heavy fog and crashed into a valley in western China. The crash killed fifteen people.

The accident occurred on Tuesday June 18, 2013. That afternoon, the bus was traveling to a tourist spot near Changji city in the Xinjiang region when the accident happened. The accident occurred around 5:10 p.m. The bus was returning from a tourist spot near the Changji in the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture. The bus fell into a valley near Miaoergou Township, Rehmanjon Dawut, deputy governor of the prefecture, said during a news conference on Wednesday.

The 15 people killed in the accident ranged in age from 18 to 49. The bus was one of 10 rented by a local shopping mall to take more than 360 of its employees on a tour. Twenty passengers in the bus suffered injuries and are still being treated. Four are in critical but stable condition. The male bus driver survived the crash and is being treated at a local hospital.

The tour bus carrying 35 female passengers plunged into a valley on Tuesday, falling more than 40 meters. Poor road conditions and bad driving conditions make accidents in China quite common.

In a deadlier bus accident in central Peru, a bus veered off of a highway and fell into a river. The accident has left at least 30 dead and 9 are still missing.

According to Highway Police Chief Col. Rodorico Cubas, the bus was believed to be carrying 54 passengers when it went off the road on a curve and fell into the Tarma River in Junin province.

Emergency crews recovered 30 bodies and rescued 14 or 15 injured survivors. Nine people are still unaccounted for. Rescue efforts continue. Officials fear that there could be more bodies in the wreckage.

“We’re still waiting to recover nine bodies or injured people,” Cubas said, adding that the injured had been transported to hospitals in communities closest to the accident site.

The police chief also stated that the bus went off the roadway for unknown reasons before entering a tunnel and ended up plunging into the Tarma River, some 229 miles from Lima.

Witnesses told investigators that the bus went down a 50-meter (163-foot) slope into the river and that the weather conditions at the scene were making it difficult for emergency crews to attend to the injured and recover the bodies.

On Wednesday, news channels showed images of a destroyed bus lying in the river.

As in China, accidents on Peru’s highways are a common thing because of poor driving, poor state of roads, and the informality of the transportation sector in those countries.

A car, which lost control off of a California highway, was hit by a bus, resulting in the death of woman and leaving her husband critically injured, police sources say. The accident occurred at 2 a.m. on Highway 101 near Burlingame. The bus driver and the 8 passengers in the bus survived, but were left with injuries.

The California Highway Patrol confirmed that the unidentified woman who passed away was accompanying her husband, Raul Padilla of Oakland. The woman was the passenger while her husband Raul was the one driving the car. It is still unclear why the car lost control on the highway leading to the accident. Raul’s car, which was headed South when it lost control, finally stopped at the two lanes that were facing the north. The bus, which was also going South, hit the front part of the car. Also involved in the accident were two other cars, whose drivers couldn’t avoid the crash.

It is believed that the couple had been drinking, but it’s still unclear whether drunk driving led to the accident. The 36-year-old woman succumbed to the accident while her husband narrowly escaped death. With the husband still in critical condition, it’s quite early to conclude whether he will survive. The police said they could not conclude that drunk driving was the prime cause of the accident. However, they acknowledged that it would not be left out as a possible cause of the accident. With Raul’s condition still unknown, the number of survivors from the crash is 10. The other survivors included 8 passengers, with the ninth being the bus driver.

The police are now banking on the health of the driver of the car, Raul, to establish a concrete cause for the accident. It is still unclear what the name of the woman who perished, believed to be Raul’s wife, was. The other persons who sustained injuries were also treated, but none of them sustained any life-threatening injury. The accident occurred deep into the night, and it is possible that Raul and his wife had been drinking all night. The police refuse to draw an immediate conclusion, as they believe that anything could have been the cause of the accident. The bus driver tried to avoid Raul’s car, but the bus still hit the front of the car because the bus driver was not able to stop the bus in time.

Both drivers who were involved in a shuttle bus and tractor trailer crash near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia face legal charges stemming from the accident, in which more than a dozen people were injured.

Mario Cochran, the driver of the tractor-trailer, is now facing three counts of serious injury by motor vehicle and is also being charged with an improper left turn. Yolanda Boles, the shuttle bus driver, is also facing three counts of serious injury by motor vehicle, operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial license, and operating a unsafe vehicle.

According to the recently released police report, Yolanda Boles should not have been driving the bus. The report states that she did not have the proper commercial driver’s license to drive a large vehicle like a bus. Her employer, MTI, recently released the following statement, “On that day, Ms. Yolanda Boles mistakenly took command of a larger vehicle than one for which she was rated.”

The report on the incident states that the bus contained no brake fluid and that the metal wires in the tires were showing through the rubber. According to a press release by MTI, Boles was instructed to, “check the brake fluid level, and if she found it to be low, to replace the fluid.” All MTI drivers understand that if vehicle operation or safety is ever in question, they are to immediately take the vehicle out of operation and follow maintenance protocols.

Yolanda Boles had not been previously cited for any similar violations by MTI. The only citation on record for her was for tardiness.

Authorities state that they have also cited MTI for allowing an unlicensed person to drive. According to local authorities, MTI may face more charges in the future. Lawsuits from victims may also be on the horizon.

According to College Park police, sixteen people on the shuttle bus were injured when it crashed on the road that loops around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The bus skidded 158 feet before the impact.

Seven of the victims have been released from Grady Memorial Hospital. Hospital authorities stated that two people were treated for serious injuries; one suffered a collapsed lung, and the other fractured both shoulders.

MTI says that it is making changes to company policy because of the incident. A spokesperson told media that they will now require all drivers to have their CDL license.

Bus accidents are one of the most traumatic events that can happen on the road and can result in multiple deaths and injuries, not to mention millions of dollars worth of damage to property. A bus crash attorney can help assert the rights of the victims and assist them in getting due compensation. Bus companies can also guarantee that they are following the legal guidelines to release payouts. The idea behind hiring a bus accident lawyer should be to protect and benefit both parties.

One recent incident involves a bus in Myanmar going from Yangon to Mandalay. The bus accident stemmed from a blown tire, leading the vehicle to skid and go off of a bridge and sink into a stream. According to media reports, there were 27 people in the bus; 11 were killed and 16 were injured, including an American citizen. The road is known to be accident prone, due mostly to reckless driving and speeding, particularly on the sharp curves.

Another bus accident occurred on May 26, 2013 in Mexico. Similar to the Myanmar incident, the bus had a blown tire, causing it to lose control and turn over. The bus flipped after hitting a guardrail. 16 people were killed as a result. The bus was traveling from Santa Maria Amajac to Mexico City carrying a group of tourists. Inspectors further observed that the bus was already very old and was operating in poor condition.

Incidents like these should spur companies and victims to seek the aid of a bus crash attorney to provide the necessary details and tips on claiming due compensation. One of the procedures involved includes inspecting the condition and quality of the vehicle before the trip. An attorney can show if the company was negligent in caring for and maintaining the vehicles. Being in the business of transportation, bus companies have a special responsibility toward passengers. When human lives are at stake, it is important to practice extraordinary diligence to guarantee the safety of all.

Even individuals not on the bus can become victims of road accidents. On May 27, 2013 in Corio, an 11-year-old boy on a bike was hit and killed. Apparently, the bus driver turned on a green light. Witnesses heard the brakes screech then saw the boy go under the large vehicle. In instances like these, a bus accident lawyer can enforce the rights of the victim’s family by showing road violations that resulted in the accident.

At least five people have been killed and 38 others injured on Thursday when a bus veered off the road and hit a tree, catching alight in India’s Bolanigr district in Odisha, said police authorities. Two women were among the dead.

The passenger bus was travelling from Bhubaneswar towards Sinappali in Nuapada when the accident took place, just three kilometres from the town in the early hours of Thursday morning. It is not clear what the cause of the accident was, however surviving passengers said that the bus driver may have been on his cell phone when he lost control of the bus and hit into a tree on the side of the road.

Soon after crashing into the tree, the bus caught on fire. Five passengers were burnt to death, while 38 others suffered a variety of injuries ranging from mild lacerations to severe burns. The injured passengers were treated at the scene by first responders and then transported via ambulance to the Bolangir District Headquarters Hospital. Once stabilized, two of the injured were transferred to VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla, where they remain in a critical condition.

Two of the five deceased have been identified as Mrs Sakuntala Devi Agarwal, 55, of Boudh, and her six year old grandson, Srianshu Goel. Efforts are being made to contact family members and identify the remaining bodies, said police authorities.

The police are also on the hunt for the bus driver and the conductor of the bus, who both fled from the scene of the accident.

In other bus accident news, 34 people were injured in Ohio in the United States after a bus rear-ended a passenger car on a highway near Bowling Green on Tuesday evening at approximately 10.30pm. All five passengers in the car, including two young children, were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries with 29 passengers on the bus also sustained minor injuries. One of the bus passengers was transported to hospital by helicopter, where he was treated for more serious injuries.

The bus, which was operated by the Consolidated Biscuit Co., was transporting employees back from work. Although the cause of the accident is not yet know, police have reported that from the results of their initial investigation, alcohol and drugs did not play a role in the accident.

This accident was the second bus accident in Ohio that day, after a bus carrying only the 75 year old driver crashed at 11.30pm on Tuesday night. He was not injured.

The driver of a Pennsylvania city bus were treated to a rather unexpected passenger on Tuesday evening, when a white tailed deer crashed through the windshield of the bus and out the front door that the shocked bus driver subsequently opened.

There were no passengers on board the bus at the time, and the deer was caught on the bus’s security cameras frantically attempting to find a way to escape from the bus, running up and down the empty aisles until it found its way out of the open front door.

The driver of the bus, which was moving at the time, immediately stopped the CamTran bus and attempted to help the stunned creature find a way out. At first, the deer attempted to leap back through the shattered windscreen, but fell back into the bus before bounding to freedom.

Josh Yoder, a spokesman for CamTran, said that no one was injured in the incident. It is not clear what happened to the deer, but the animal did not appear to be seriously injured.

In more bus accident news, a tour bus carrying Florida school children on a field trip was hit by a runaway vehicle near New Orleans last week, killing one woman in the car and injuring four others. According to legal experts, the women in the car may decide to file a lawsuit in the case, despite appearing to be the parties at fault.

The car strayed into oncoming traffic on the I-10 after the driver appeared to lose control. It missed the first two of three buses from a Florida elementary school, but hit into the third bus. None of the passengers on board the bus were injured in the incident. However one passenger in the car was killed and the driver and three other passengers in the car were injured.

Legal experts say that this incident could lead to an unusual lawsuit in which the passengers of a car involved in an accident sue their driver for any injuries that are not covered by medical insurance. In such accidents, the driver is liable for damages and may be found guilty of culpable homicide if the family members of the dead passenger decide to sue. Lawsuits from the passengers on board the bus may also be forthcoming in the future, as lawyers warn that injuries such as whiplash following bus accidents may only show up days or weeks after the incident. 

The death toll of a bus accident on the Kullu Mandi national highway in India has reached 40, after four more people succumbed to their injuries in hospital and a further four bodies were recovered from the Beas river, said authorities on Thursday.

The accident occurred in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the evening on Wednesday, when the privately owned bus, which was transporting approximately 70 passengers at the time, skidded off slippery roads on a mountain pass and plunged into the Beas River, close to the town of Kullu. The bus was carrying passengers to attend a three day local festival in the town of Ani.  

A number of surviving passengers were rescued from the river by recreational rafters, as Jhiri, close to the accident scene, is a popular rafting destination.

Regional police chief Vinod Dhawan announced in a press conference that further bodies had been recovered from the river and from the partially submerged bus overnight, with some injured passengers dying of their injuries in hospital, bringing the total death toll to 40. 21 women and five children were among those who died in the inside, said Dhawan in a press conference in Kullu, which is approximately 200 kilometers north of the Himachal Pradesh capital, Shimla. Thus far, 35 of the fatalities in the accident have been identified and their next of kin have been notified. 

As well as the fatalities, 23 passengers were injured in the accident and are being treated in local hospitals, where 5 passengers remain in a critical condition, according to a spokesperson from Kullu hospitals. 

According to the police, two passengers are still missing and rescuers are continuing the search for bodies and survivors. The police also launched a region wide search for the driver of the bus, who allegedly jumped out of the bus before it plunged into the river. Eyewitnesses reported that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle while he was talking on his mobile phone. According to a new release by Kullu police, the bus driver has since been arrested. 

The state government has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident, with the transport minister Kamal Kumar sending a team of traffic and railway police officials to conduct the investigation.

India has some of the world’s most dangerous roads, with more than 110 000 people being killed in road traffic accidents in the country each year. Difficult driving conditions, poorly maintained vehicles, winding mountainous roads and driver error have been blamed for India’s high road fatality rates.

A woman has been killed and four others sustained minor injuries after a tour bus carrying grade school pupils collided with a sedan passenger car in New Orleans at 10am on Thursday. The accident occurred on the I-10 West, close to Michoud Boulevard in eastern New Orleans.

According to initial reports  from the New Orleans Police Department, who were the first responders on the scene, the tour bus was carrying children on a school tour from Crestview, Florida when the accident occurred. A lone woman driver was travelling along the I-10 eastbound in a maroon Honda Accord near the offramp to Michoud Boulevard when she lost control of her car on the rain slicked highway. The driver veered into the westbound lanes of traffic, and was hit into break da bank by the oncoming bus from behind. There were 42 children on board the bus at the time of the incident.

The mangled wreckage of the Honda ended up on the island between the two lanes of the highway, while the bus driver swerved the bus and pulled off the highway into the adjacent woods. The driver of the Honda, whose identity has been withheld from the media pending notification of her next of kin, was declared dead on the scene by emergency first responders. Four of the children on the bus sustained minor injuries and were transported to hospital by ambulance, where they remain in a stable condition, said local authorities.

The I-90 both Eastbound and Westbound was closed for more than two hours following the accident, while the wreckage was cleared from the scene, with several miles of traffic backed up on both sides. The road was officially reopened at 12.30 once the remains of the vehicles had been removed from the interstate.

In other bus accident news this week, five people were killed and a further 42 people injured in a bus accident in China’s Qinghai Province on Thursday morning. According to Chinese authorities, the bus accident occurred at approximately 6.40 am, when a tour bus travelling from the city of Chengdu, capital of China’s southwest Sichuan Province, overturned after the bus driver lost control on a sharp hairpin bend. The bus was en route to Qinghai Yushi’s Tibet Autonomous Prefecture at the time of the accident. Officials are currently conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident, said local media reports citing the provincial public security department.