Articles Posted in Bus Accident

According to an article in the Boston Herald, a bus crash last Friday injured 16 University of Massachusetts at Amherst students who were en route to Canada for a ski trip. The bus driver sustained head injuries and some internal injuries but was listed in stable condition at Darthmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on Monday.

State police said the bus driver apparently had a pre-existing heart condition, but it’s unclear if that was a factor in Friday’s bus crash. They added that the driver has shown no signs of taking evasive action. They are still investigating the bus accident.

Depending on the circumstances of the accident, there are several parties who can be found at fault for injuries from a bus accident. These include the bus company, bus maintenance companies, bus manufacturers, the bus driver, and drivers of other vehicles.

Source: Cops: Bus driver in UMass ski crash had heart woes, Boston Herald, December 7, 2010 Continue reading

A bus carrying UMass Amherst students on a ski trip to Canada crashed on a Vermont highway Friday. The crash happened when the 49-year-old bus driver lost consciousness. According to owner of bus company, Tour World, the driver felt a tingling and started to pull over, but it was too late.

The bus was carrying 44 passengers when it swerved across the I-91 median into an embankment and flipped onto its side. Sixteen of the student passengers were treated for injuries including concussions, wounds and back injuries. Four of them were taken to the emergency room for critical injuries.

According to the bus company owner, the driver had no known medical conditions and passed a physical 6 months ago. He was hospitalized overnight at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire.

The ski trip was organized by a private group, but UMass sent university vehicles to the scene to transport students back to campus. Some of the students continued on to Canada.

The driver and passengers are fortunate that no one was killed in this accident. More than 250 people are killed and more than 15,000 people are injured every year in bus accidents like this one. Although the media has said that no serious injuries have been reported yet, concussions, like all other head injuries, are very serious. Sometimes it can take weeks for a doctor to recognize a traumatic brain injury, and repeat concussions can lead to devastating consequences. So the risks are amplified here, given the fact that some of these students may have suffered concussions and went on to ski where they could suffer more blows to the head.

It is unclear whether anyone could be held responsible for injuries suffered from this accident. It seems that the driver may have been driving carefully and suffered an unexpected heart attack, but an experienced personal injury lawyer could look into all of the facts and circumstances and assess your case.

Sources:
MSNBC, Ski bus flips on I-91 in Vermont

Boston Globe, Driver of bus carrying UMass students that crashed in Vermont expected to be released from hospital; no serious injuries reported

Daily Collegian, UMass Ski and Board Club bus overturns on I-91
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Judyann Lamothe, a 53-year-old Lowell woman, was killed last Thursday when she was hit by a bus. Lamothe fell under the wheels of a Lowell Regional Transit Authority shuttle as it moved out from a bus stop in downtown Lowell, according to the Boston Globe.

An administrator from the LRTA said the bus driver had a good driving record and had been with company for 13 years. The administrator also said that the accident happened as Lamothe was banging on the back of the bus, trying to get on as it was driving forward, but that the driver didn’t hear her. He said that that was when she fell underneath the back wheel. Police are still investigating the accident.

Bus accidents can be the result of many different factors including driver error and inattention, bad weather, malfunctioning equipment, poor maintenance and dangerous traffic conditions. In certain circumstances, the person injured might be entitled to compensation for their injuries.
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A Rehoboth school bus driver who was involved in a traffic accident in September 15 has been charged with negligent driving after she allegedly “dozed off” before her vehicle hit a tree, injuring the driver and a 10-year-old student. The driver was placed on leave following the accident. She will be summoned to Taunton District Court, but no date has been set.

In the event of a bus accident or other emergency, Rehoboth school bus drivers are told to call police and fire officials before notifying the bus company. The school superintendent said she and the police and fire chiefs are working to improve bus safety and communication between bus drivers and schools.

Here in Massachusetts, driving negligently is a misdemeanor. Junior operators who are convicted of driving negligently or recklessly are subject to up to a 60 day revocation of their driver’s license. A subsequent conviction within three years can result in a one year suspension.

Source: D-R school bus driver cited in crash, The Sun Chronicle, October 25, 2010 Continue reading

On Tuesday morning, a Western Massachusetts school bus accident injured seven children when the bus was rear-ended by another vehicle. The traffic accident occurred around 8:30am in the town of Longmeadow.

According to the Longmeadow police lieutenant, the bus was en route to Curtis Blake Day School in Springfield and had stopped at a red light on Converse Street, then began to move again when it stopped suddenly to avoid hitting a pedestrian still in the crosswalk. The vehicle behind the bus rear-ended it. The bus driver and the people in the car were not injured, but all seven children were taken to Bay State Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries.

According to the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services, almost half a million Massachusetts students ride school buses each year and accidents are rare. Most bus-related injuries occur with pedestrians who are entering or exiting the bus.

Sources: Seven children injured in W. Mass. school bus crash, Boston Globe, October 5, 2010
School Bus Safety Fact Sheet, Mass.gov Continue reading

On Wednesday afternoon, a traffic accident in Concord involved two school buses. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Massachusetts state police and local school and police officials responded to the emergency call after one public school bus rear-ended another bus.

The bus crash occurred around 2:20pm. One student passenger was evaluated for a suspected laceration and one of the bus drivers was examined for minor injuries. Each of the buses was carrying about a dozen students. One bus picked them all up and safely transported them home.

The scene of the accident had been cleared and traffic had returned to normal about an hour after the bus accident.

Source: UPDATE: Concord school buses involved in accident by Route 2, WickedLocal.com, September 22, 2010 Continue reading

Currently, several states require should safety states require school buses to have shoulder safety belts, but Massachusetts is not among them. According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, there were 1,730 school bus accidents reported in the Commonwealth in 2008, and almost a thousand more reported in 2009. The state has roughly 9,000 school buses registered.

Though Massachusetts recently passed a bill banning texting while driving and requiring older drivers to pass more frequent testing, legislators have overlooked this safety loophole. A school safety belt law was presented and killed in the United States’ Transportation Committee back in 2008. This year, the Public Safety Committee has recommended that Congress pass the bill. It’s currently in the House Committee awaiting a recommendation before going to a full House vote.

Unfortunately, many lawmakers are not familiar with the bill and there seems to be limited momentum for getting the bill passed.

Source: Seat belt bill for school buses gets low priority, Telegram.com, July 28, 2010 Continue reading

Here in Boston, we’ve had our share of subway and bus accidents. Apparently, we aren’t the only city with this problem. On Friday afternoon, bus riders in Washington, DC boarded the B2 bus as usual, not knowing that the driver was an imposter. The 19-year-old man donned a standard-issue Metro bus driver’s uniform and drove a bus out of the Bladensburg garage before picking up passengers and crashing the vehicle into a tree and multiple cars.

The bus accident has resulted in an in-depth review of the Metro’s security procedures to determine how an unauthorized person could have driven a bus out of the garage.

Initially, the bus driver fled, but he was later arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and fleeing an accident. He reportedly told investigators that he simply had a fascination with buses.

Source: Metro passengers taken for a ride by impostor bus driver, Washington Post, July 11, 2010 Continue reading