Bus Accident Lawyer

A 77-year old school bus driver who was involved in a two-bus crash earlier this week is reported to have been in two previous school bus accidents since February of 2012.  The most recent accident sent 21 students to the hospital, and many are wondering whether it is time for him to find a new occupation.

Richard N. Lee Jr. of Port Allen, Louisiana was driving a First Student school bus loaded with close to 60 students from West Baton Rouge Parish when he rear-ended another school bus. According to  State Trooper First Class Jared Sandifer, Lee crashed into the back of the other bus and was given a ticket for careless operation of a vehicle. The other driver, Renita Trufant of Baton Rouge, was not charged in the accident, in which police say that Lee was travelling approximately 45 miles per hour when he slammed into the bus ahead of him, which had its warning lights on and was stopped in front of a student’s home.

The students on Lee’s bus were both elementary school and middle school age, and were from Chamberlain Elementary and Devall Middle School. Though there were no serious injuries, twenty-one students were taken to nearby hospitals following the crash before being released.

The accident shut down North River Road, where the accident took place, and parents were sent scrambling in search of their children. The principal of the elementary school said that though two of the children had to be airlifted from the scene, it was because of a lack of ground transportation rather than because of any serious injury.

Sandifer says that Lee had been in two previous bus accidents, and that an investigation into his driving history will be requested of the Department of Motor Vehicles. In the first accident, which took place early in 2012, he sideswiped a car travelling in the opposite direction while going around a curve. In the second accident he rear-ended a passenger car and forced it to collide with a vehicle in front of it.  No students were on board his bus at the time of the previous crashes.

Disciplinary action against drivers is handled by the bus company, First Student, but the Division of Motor Vehicles could independently revoke his driver’s license due to the fact that he has caused three accidents in less than two years.

An overloaded sleeper bus carrying passengers between the towns of Bangladesh and Hyderabad was engulfed in flames following a crash that happened late at night, while most passengers were asleep and caught unaware. The bus is said to have been passing another vehicle at a high rate of speed when it sideswiped a guardrail and its diesel fuel tank exploded following that impact. The bus was carrying several more passengers than it was legally allowed to transport; as a result, negligence charges have been filed against Jabber Travels, the bus company owner and operator. The transportation minister reported that police are investigating and questioning the driver of the bus, who escaped injury by climbing out a window of the burning bus while his passengers were trapped inside.

Hyderabad is in southern India, and sleeper buses regularly travel this route at night, carrying families to visit one another as well as a number of workers who travel regularly between the major cities. Passengers on the bus involved in the crash included an infant, a middle-aged couple celebrating a wedding anniversary and software engineers commuting between Bangalore and Hyderabad. The identification process for the 45 bodies pulled from the wreckage is expected to be slow, as the bodies were so badly burned in the fire that a DNA identification process will be required.

The driver, a colleague from the bus company and five passengers were able to escape out of a window following the crash, but the other forty-five passengers were trapped inside the bus due to a locking mechanism that the bus driver had control of. It is not clear why the driver did not disengage the locking mechanism before making his escape, or why he did not do more to assist the passengers. Family members of those onboard the bus gathered outside of the bus company’s offices and a police presence was required to maintain order. The owners of the bus company have not been located since the time of the crash, though police are searching for them.

India is noted for the extremely high number of accidents that occur on its roads. The World Health Organization has reported that there are over 100,000 deaths that occur on the country’s roads every year, with most of them being attributed to high rates of speed, reckless driving, and poorly maintained vehicles and roadways.

A school bus accident claimed the life of a 27-year old Navy man on Tuesday, October 22^nd in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Christian Montes was on his way to work at the Norfolk Naval Station when his vehicle apparently broke down on the side of the road and was then rear-ended by a school bus. The force of the crash pushed both vehicles into a nearby intersection.

The crash took place at 6:45 a.m. when it was still apparently dark out. Montes was reportedly outside of his vehicle when the crash took place. There were almost three dozen students on board the Virginia Beach City school bus.  Many of the students were either sleeping or doing homework at the time of the crash when they were suddenly alerted to an impending problem.

Student Catherine Delacruz reported that another student was yelling for the driver to slow down. Others indicated that there was a lot of yelling, and a jolt that caused many to bump their heads.  Students were removed from the bus and kept on the sidewalk as first responders worked. Many witnessed the Navy man lying under the bus.

The students were transported from the scene of the accident. Twenty-four of them were accompanied by their Assistant Vice Principal to their school, Bayside High School via another bus that arrived on the scene.  A Sentara Healthcare spokesperson indicated that eleven students had been treated at two of their local hospital locations for minor injuries, including headaches and neck pain.

Many of the students that were onboard the bus were reportedly very upset by the incident, which was the first fatal crash involving a Virginia Beach school bus in almost a decade. They were permitted to call the families and many parents arrived at the school and were permitted to take them home for the day. The school made arrangements for a crisis response team to be onsite to provide counseling to those who were struggling with the event.

The Virginia Beach Police Department shut down the road where the accident took place for several hours in order to complete their investigation. Their work is ongoing but it has been determined that neither speed nor alcohol were the cause of the accident. Additional investigations are being carried out by the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, which will determine whether any charges will be filed against the bus driver. Additionally the school district’s transportation and employee relations departments will review the crash and determine if action needs to be taken against the driver.

Within a passage of three days, South Mississippi has experienced three bus accidents. On Monday, a school bus belonging to Harrison County crashed into a power pole. On Tuesday, another accident took place involving a bus belonging to Jackson County. Following these two crashes, on Wednesday morning yet another bus accident took place and this time the location was Ocean Springs. Perhaps these recurring crashes can serve as warnings for bus drivers of potentially dangerous accidents that often occur.

The head mechanic for the School District of Ocean Springs, John Rushing, has been reported to have said that the bumper of the bus needed to be pulled out because it incurred scratches and dents. He also mentioned that the motorized crossing arm of the bus was damaged and needed to be repaired.

The bus set out to transport 43 students belonging to Ocean Springs Middle and High Schools to their respective schools. The collision took place when a trailer appeared right in front of the bus, with the driver not being able to bring the bus to a stop in time, causing it to crash against the trailer, as reported by the police.

The Director of Operations at Ocean Springs School, Brooks McKay, informed officials that a substitute bus was dispatched to transport the students safely to their schools. There were no injuries incurred by any of these students. However, McKay claimed that the school district is trying its best to improve conditions of the transport system to prevent any accidents from occurring in the future.

12 Students Suffer from Minor Injuries in Harrison County Bus Crash

The Harrison County bus accident, which took place on Monday, resulted in 12 of its student passengers receiving minor injuries. When the crash happened, a car collided with the bus, which caused the bus to crash head on into a power pole.

Similarly, the bus crash that took place on Tuesday was due to a vehicle smashing right across the Vancleave Upper Elementary School Bus. Thus, officials have been recognizing the need for bus drivers to attain an extra careful attitude because of the incidence of three bus accidents in a row. Precautionary methods such as stopping in front of rail tracks, being wary of any children chasing buses as well being ready to apply brakes at the right moment and the right time, ought to be considered by bus drivers in the future, according to McKay.

The students at Holmwood Technical High School located in Manchester have not been able to recover from the devastating loss of four of their peers as a result of a bus accident, which occurred earlier this week.

Patricia Reid Clarke, a member of the staff at the Holmwood Technical High School claimed that it was much worse than any accident she had ever experienced, particularly because she regretted the loss of a student whom she believed could have been saved. It was because the back door was jammed and could not be opened that the student while suffering and in pain, died in agony.

Reid Clarke also mentioned that she along with a few teachers were right behind the truck and thus witnessed the devastating scene. The bus was seen colliding with a truck. The accident took place on the Chudleigh main road.

One of the teachers at Holmwood Technical High School, Avaria Harris, mentioned that a similar loss was incurred on the school earlier in January, when a bus accident occurred. Despite no casualties resulting from that crash, it should have served as a deterrent for the transport system, and accidents such as the recent one could have been avoided.

The principal of the school, Paul Bailey, still suffers from the shock of April 2011, when four students died in a bus crash and regrets the occurrence of a similar catastrophe only two years later. He asks the students to remain strong and believes that God will guide them through this troubling time.

Students and Teachers Grieve the Losses of Their Loved Ones

After an emergency meeting of the school staff at the Holmwood Technical High School, a memorial for the deceased was held. Christina High School and Mizpah All-Age sent their guidance counselors to participate in the devotion and to support the students and faculty at Holmwood to help recover from their grief.

Furthermore, students and teachers were seen to connect over this loss and come together in the form of a family, consoling and subsequently helping each other through this difficult time. Reid-Clarke also mentioned how some of her students helped wipe off the tears upon her cheeks, and that this was a time when both the students and the teachers were in increasing need of each other.

On  the 18th of September, Canada’s capital of Ottawa experienced a catastrophic bus accident, taking 6 lives. The accident took place when a double-decker bus crashed against a passenger train. The anterior of the bus was ripped open.

A passersby claims that the bus went straight through a blocked crossing barrier. The passerby overheard the passengers screaming to caution the bus driver to stop, but it was too late, as the collision took place immediately. Furthermore, another witness, Tanner Trepanier, who was also a passenger claimed that the passengers could see the train approaching when the bus reached the crossing

According to officials, 30 passengers were injured, and approximately 10 were in critical conditions. The accident took place at Ottawa’s rush hour. The bus apparently rushed through a lowered crossing barrier and collided into the side of the four-car train that was passing by.

There are no reports of the passengers or the crew members on the train having received any injuries; however, one of the passenger cars was derailed consequent to the accident. The Ottawa-Toronto route was thus postponed for use, and all trains scheduled to travel through it were cancelled by Via Rail.

Another passenger remarked that as the bus was coming closer to the train, there was a 90-degree turn, and that he believed that the driver was not aware of the flashing signals warning the vehicle that the barrier was lowered. The bus operator OC Transpo, John Manconi said that the cause of the accident is yet not understood.

After the devastating derailment of an oil train in Quebec, which killed 47 people earlier this year, the Ottawa bus crash is the second most significant rail accident the country has witnessed.

The bus is reported to have hit the train dead on. Another passenger, Rebbecca Guilbeault claimed that she had settled her one-year old onto his push chair right before the crash, and after it had taken place, many passengers piled on top of him because of the impact. She further said that because the bus driver did not stop, it is likely that he blacked out right before the collision with the train took place.

The accident site was extremely shocking, with a few dead bodies lying all around, one of which was torn in half. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently carrying out an investigation, and the lead on the case, Glen Pilon, claims that it is essential that they attain the black box recording in order to scrutinize what the bus driver perceived before the crash happened.

On the 15th of September, a bus crash that occurred in southwest China, specifically in the Sichuan Province, has proved to have a devastating effect. The crash claimed 16 lives, some of which were preschool children.

The accident took place at approximately 2 p.m. and included the collision of a passenger bus with a heavy-duty truck filled with sand and cobblestones. The site of the accident was the Zhenwu Village in Dazhou City, as reported by local authorities. Consequent to the collision, the bus jumped into a riverbed, around 3 meters in depth, as gauged by the emergency response office. The bus, along with the 24 passengers seated in it, were buried by the sand originally loaded onto the heavy duty truck when the bus came in a destructive contact with the truck.

The number of injured people is reported to be 4, one out of which was a student. The basis for the accident has yet not been discovered and is under investigation. Furthermore, the students killed as a result of this crash belonged to the age group ranging from 12 to 16 years of age. The bus crash thus represented a catastrophic event, being the source of distress and suffering for many.

Two Bus Crashes in One Day

In Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a similar crash took place on the same day. However, the casualties incurred in this crash are relatively less as compared to those incurred in the accident that occurred in the Sichuan Province.

In this accident, 4 people were killed while 8 were injured. The crash happened at around 1 p.m., and entailed the crash of a minibus into a gorge, approximately 50 meters deep. The gorge is situated in Yao Autonomous County of Du’an. The total number of passengers on this minibus was 16. Two of the injured died immediately at the accident site. Similarly, two out of the remaining 10 who received injuries died when they were transported to hospitals for treatment.

Investigations searching for the cause of this bus accident are underway. Furthermore, both of these destructive accidents prove the severity of the deteriorating conditions of China’s roads. It is high time that the government intervenes to improve the conditions of the roads and subsequently the transport system to prevent such horrific accidents from taking place in the future.

A Greyhound bus skidded off an interstate highway located in southwest Ohio, causing 34 of its passengers to receive injuries. The bus drove off the highway and crashed into a tree, through a fence, and toppled over and slid onto a cornfield, where it finally stopped.

The injuries were not found to be fatal despite the fact that many of the passengers were trapped under the bus and were rescued by the team of firefighters and paramedics, as reported by the State Highway Patrol. The crash took place at approximately 4 a.m. on Interstate-75, situated in Liberty Township around 25 miles to the north of Cincinnati.

One of the passengers, Christopher Link, a resident of Michigan, reported that he witnessed the bus driver collapse and a woman screaming in order to wake him up. However, he also mentioned that he thought that the driver might have incurred a medical problem consequent to the crash. He further mentioned that the bus toppled over at least two times following the collision with the tree.

The director of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency claims that 35 people were transported to hospitals, six of which were taken in helicopters, while 29 were carried by ambulances. Additionally, the injuries incurred varied from minor ones to grave ones.

Victims of the Crash Provided with Medical Aid

The total number of passengers on this bus, headed towards Detroit, was 52, including the driver. Those victims of the accident who were not injured physically as a result of the crash were transported back to Cincinnati. However, the trauma of the crash caused not a single one of these people to appear at the bus station the next morning, to go from Cincinnati to Detroit.

Eleven people out of 13 who were taken to the Atrium Medical Center, located in Middletown, and one passenger out of the remaining 14 who were taken to the West Chester Hospital have been discharged.

Similarly, two out of those four people who had been taken through helicopters, to the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton were released shortly. One of those had suffered the detriment of a broken leg, which is soon to be scheduled for surgery. One of these passengers was admitted to a hospital to remedy the bruises and contusions acquired through the destructive bus accident.

It is even reported that a few of passengers were children. Immediately after the accident had taken place, Greyhound Bus service dispatched a team to help the victims of this potentially deadly crash.

Beershaba District County has officially declared Edward Gelfand responsible for the devastating bus crash of Eilat. The bus crash occurred in 2008, killing 24 people. It is the most devastating bus accident that the Israeli population has ever witnessed. The victims were a group of Russian travel agents, visiting Israel. Gelfand, the bus driver, was reported to have driven the bus off a cliff, thus resulting in such a catastrophe.

Five years later, the matter has finally been concluded as caused by the crime of speeding committed by the driver. Gelfand was reported to have overtaken other vehicles on the highway, Route 12, at a massive speed of 98 kilometers per hour, almost twice as much as the maximum speed on this route, 50 kilometers per hour. Furthermore, Gelfand overlooked all the signs that warned drivers of any dangerous terrain that lies ahead. The bus went out of control with the arrival of the cliff, and Belfand, unable to apply the brakes at such a high speed, drove the bus off the 54-meter high cliff.

The court dismissed Gelfand’s claim that the vehicle had failed him. The court decided that it was the driver’s fault for making the faulty decision of driving a 20-ton bus on a non-linear road. The media, after interviewing Gelfand, revealed the possibility that he would petition the case to the Supreme Court.

The bus contained a total of 60 passengers, dozens of whom were injured. Six helicopters were summoned to rescue the passengers, and those who witnessed the crash claimed that it was nothing less than a “battlefield,” with a chaotic blend of devastated luggage and injured people. A passersby corroborated that it was indeed a bus crash, with the driver losing control of the vehicle at a corner and propelling into a guardrail, as opposed to a terrorist act. Gelfand further admits that he understands the dire repercussions of his actions.

The Israeli tourism ministry confirmed that all of the 60 passengers on the bus were Russian travelers. Immediately after the accident had taken place, 40 ambulances were dispatched to rush the injured passengers to nearby hospitals, to possibly lessen causalities. Gelfand is being held responsible for such a regrettable catastrophe, and this is yet another example of the extent of damage that can be caused by speeding.

On Sunday evening, a bus overturned on a highway in South Africa’s eastern region. The passengers were young girls who were coming back from an annual Zulu tradition. Officials have reported that along with the driver of the bus, around nine girls have been killed, with 60 others injured.

The accident took place around 5:45 PM local standard time on the R34 and R66 intersection located in Melmoth, a town in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. The bus slid down the road before ultimately coming to a halt as it smashed into traffic barriers.

Netcare 911, an ambulance service, made their spokesperson Chris Botha available for comment. He reported that the bus had been pierced by Armco barriers when paramedics and emergency services arrived at the scene. He also added that many of the injured had already been removed from the site by private transport before the ambulances arrived.

The initial report by Botha stated that around eight people had been killed, including six men and two women. However, regional authorities later increased the toll to ten with the young girls leading the casualty list. An estimate given for the number of injured victims stood at 60, with at least 2 people suffering from serious injuries.

The bus was carrying around a dozen girls as they were returning from the Nyonkeni Royal Palace in Nongoma after attending the Umhlanga Reed Dance Ceremony. Although other sources had a separate breakdown, the provincial health department said that the ten deaths included nine girls and one adult, who is believed to be the bus driver.

South African President Jacob Zuma expressed his sorrow at the horrific news, adding that this was a demoralizing episode after a successful event which promoted self-confidence amongst young women in the society. He also expressed condolences to the King of Zulus, King Zwelithini, who represents South Africa’s largest ethnic group.

Umhlanga, also known as the Reed Dance Ceremony, is an important cultural tradition for the Zulus that takes place every year in September and involves young girls. The purpose of the tradition is celebrate the purity and pride of young women, and aim for them to delay their sexual activity until they are married. Tens of thousands of young women take part in the ceremony. The Reed Dance Ceremony has become a very well respected and famous tradition for the Zulus.

Thembinkosi Willies Mchunu, the Provincial Official, mentioned a worrying trend that pointed at a lack of awareness regarding road safety, which has resulted in many fatalities of young children. He said that this incident would be thoroughly investigated and all possible scenarios would be taken into account.