Bus Accident Lawyer

Seven people were treated for minor injuries this morning after a school bus collided with a van on Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills. It is believed that the accident occurred at 7:30 am. It happened between Bath and Reid, said officials from the Fire Department.

Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze treated an adult and six children for “green tag” minor injuries.

Brooklyn-based Academy Transportation is the company operating the buses that were involved in the crash. This a different company than Academy Bus LLC, a charter bus service.

On the same day, a jury awarded $14 million in a ruling for a damages case relating to a school bus accident. A Bucks County resident was injured during a school bus related accident. A law was upheld by the Commonwealth Court that boasts a total of $500,000 for damages lawsuits against town and school areas.

A 23-year-old woman Ashley Zauflik had one of her legs amputated after the bus collided with her in 2007 in the Pennsbury School District. The court ruled in her favor during the case and awarded her the $14 million as compensation for the injuries she suffered.

Judge Robert J. Mellon of Bucks County Court brought the award down to $500,000 in May 2012 due to the cap on the charge for school areas and towns.

Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer claimed that the law has been held up in court a number of times before. During the ruling on Wednesday, she said that although the “tragic circumstances of this case weigh heavily on this court,” the court did not have the authority to change the law.

“It is the role of the General Assembly, not this court, to make the difficult policy decisions and enact them into law if such decisions receive the support of the necessary majority,” she told the press.

Another judge, Rochelle S. Friedman, wrote a disapproving view, claiming that she deemed the cap on the charge as unconstitutional.

An appeal is being made by the attorney for Zauflik, Thomas Kline. He declared the cap a “manifest injustice.”

“I am hopeful that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will grant a review to look carefully again at the unfair limitation on damages,” he said.

Previously, the cap had been upheld by the high court in 1981 and again in 1986.

In Nepal, eighteen people suffered injuries due to a bus overturning on Sadepani Road section in the district of Kailali late Thursday night. The vehicle in question was bound for Nepalguni from Dhangadi. The bus overturned while avoiding a motorcycle on the road.

Shukhkhad Hospital is treating the injured. It is the district’s health post. The victims are said to be safe. The driver of the bus has disappeared, and the police have been dispatched in search of him.

Meanwhile in Quebec, there were nine people injured due to a chain reaction crash in Stratford. The incident involved a car, a tractor, and two buses. The bus was headed Southbound on Interstate 95. The incident resulted in traffic backups spanning twenty miles to New Haven.

The accident is believed to have occurred before 10 a.m Wednesday Morning. The tractor was cut off in the center lane of the road by an anonymous vehicle. The driver of the truck, which was owned by a New Jersey-based appliance company, slowed suddenly along with the driver of a Dartmouth coach. This bus was owned by Autocar Preference based in Quebec. The truck driver attempted to stop, but he was too late braking and collided with the Dartmouth Coach. The collision forced the Coach into the tractor.

Coming behind the bus was a 2005 Dodge Magnum, which also did not have sufficient time to stop. This accident follows an increased observation of the safety of Coach companies due to an accident on March 12, 2011, in which fifteen passengers died. The bus impacted an exit sign in the Bronx close to the Westchester County line.

A sixty year old woman, Nancy Laren from New Hampshire awoke early looking forward to her trip to New York. Instead of successfully travelling on the Dartmouth bus to see her family, she endured a horrendous accident. She said, “I was looking out the window and I felt the bus put on the brakes and he kept strengthening on the brakes,” she told the press, “I remember hitting my head.”

The drivers of all three of the vehicles were transported to the hospital complaining of pain. In addition, three passengers in the Dodge and three from the Dartmouth Coach were also taken to the hospital. Three adults and a pair of teenagers were admitted to Vincent’s Medical Centre, where their condition was reported as stable. Four others were taken to Bridgeport Hospital. In total, fifty-six passengers refused the offer of medical attention.

A Romanian tourist bus careened off a bridge and fell into a deep ravine on Sunday June 23, 2013 in central Montenegro. At least 18 people were killed, and 32 others were injured.

According to Rasko Konjevic, the country’s Interior Minister, the bus had 46 people on board when it crashed some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the capital, Podgorica. The tour bus was traveling from Romania to Montenegro’s Adriatic coast on a narrow, windy road.

The police told media that the bus plunged from a bridge over the Moraca River during a rainstorm. That section of road is extremely slick when wet. The bus crashed 130 feet into the ravine. Police used a helicopter to aid in the rescues.

Konjevic said, “Sadly, this death toll could climb further.” Many of the surviving passengers are still listed in critical condition because of their injuries.

The road the bus traveled on was a winding road that leads from Serbia through the Moraca canyon to the seacoast. It is infamous for serious traffic accidents because it is narrow and slippery when wet.

The bus careened off the Zdrijelo Bridge and then plunged into the rocky gorge of the Moraca River.

Mihail Florovici, the Romanian ambassador to Montenegro to local media, “This is a major tragedy for us. Fifteen people out of 46 passengers died in a bus accident. Medical crews are fighting for the lives of others.”

The wreckage of the bus landed on its side on an outcrop of the gorge about 90 feet down. Police closed off the area and the main road linking Podgorica with the north of the country.

According to statements by the Health authorities, eight of the injured were in intensive care in a Podgorica hospital.

Romania sent planes to aid in bringing home survivors of the bus crash. On Monday, a military aircraft arrived in Podgorica to aid in the rescue. On Tuesday, two medically equipped planes were sent in to transport the injured.

Twenty-nine people have been hospitalized. Included in the injured is a young Montenegrin child. Four of the injured remain in critical condition.

Police initially announced that there were 13 people dead, but overnight the numbers grew to 18.  Miodrag Soc, a forensic pathologist, told media that the victims will be identified by their families.

Health Ministry Official Arafat released this statement, “Unfortunately, we lost 18 people and that is a huge tragedy for Romania.”

The country’s President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta sent out their condolences to the victims’ families. The country held a day of national mourning on Wednesday.

On May 14, 2013, seven New Jersey elementary school students and one adult were injured when a school bus collided with a car on Salem Road.

All the injuries to the children were considered minor. The adult who was injured remains in the hospital.

The accident occurred just before 8:15 a.m., when the school bus transporting students to the Fountain Woods Elementary School collided with a Toyota Camry at Salem Road and Cynwyd Drive, police said.

Fifteen students were on the bus, and seven were taken to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingoro and Virtua Memorial in Mount Holly. All but one was released by midmorning. The last student was released later in the afternoon, school officials said.

Scott Vincent, a Burlington Township resident, told media that he heard the collision just outside his home on Salem Road and saw the children leaving through the vehicle’s rear emergency exit. He said their injuries did not seem serious.

“They were upset. Some of them were crying a little bit. There was no blood. I think they were just shaken up a bit. The driver of the Toyota appeared to have the most serious injuries.” Vincent said.

The man was hospitalized with serious injuries.

The eight other students were taken to the elementary school, where they were seen by the school nurse and then released to their parents.

Superintendent Christopher Manno said the district sent administrators to the accident scene and the hospitals and notified the parents of the children on the bus. Also, an email alert was sent out to all parents.

Manno told local media, “We’re pretty pleased with the district response. We were readily able to identify all the students on the bus and notify their parents in a timely manner. I was relieved the injuries to the students were considered minor in nature”

An investigation into the accident is ongoing. Apparently, the bus was entering Salem Road from Cynwyd Drive when the collision occurred. There is a stop sign on Cynwyd Drive, but police declined to specify which driver was at fault.

School officials said the bus driver is an employee of First Student Inc., which is contracted for some of the district’s bus routes.

The bus was equipped with seatbelts, and the students are required to wear them. However, school officials did not know how many of the 15 children were belted at the time of the accident.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police’s commercial vehicle inspection unit were assisting with the probe. Officers from Burlington City and the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department also assisted at the accident scene.

VA security camera at Fifth Street and Broadway in Los Angeles caught the tragic scene when a tow truck slammed into an MTA bus on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The accident killed the 47-year-old bus driver. Police are looking at the case as a murder investigation.

Flowers, cards, and other items in memory of the bus driver, who has been identified as 47-year-old Olivia Gamboa, have been left at the intersection of Fifth Street and Broadway. Several mourners have visited the location.

Gamboa, of Montebello, was pronounced dead at a hospital after she was thrown from the bus when it was struck by a tow truck. Witnesses state that the tow truck entered the intersection by running a red light.

Witnesses also told police the tow truck was traveling at speeds around 60 mph on downtown streets.

Sgt. Greg Hoyte, who is the LAPD Central Traffic Watch Commander says, “We’re looking at a murder investigation.”

One of three surveillance cameras that provided police with video of the crash was facing south, toward Fifth Street, from a building on Broadway. The video shows the truck, traveling south on Broadway as the bus operated by Gamboa entered the intersection.

The force of the collision tore off the front of the bus, which nearly tipped onto its side upon impact.

“I have too much anger in me against that person. He shouldn’t have been out driving,” said Gamboa’s Metro co-worker, Maureen King, of the tow-truck driver.

Gamboa police were told by witnesses that they found Gamboa face down in water from a fire hydrant that was destroyed in the crash. She was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead on Wednesday morning.

“I would always see her on #18 bus doing her job. I remember recalling once that she let me in for free just because I didn’t have enough money. It’s just really heartbreaking,” said bus rider Katherine Ramirez, who visited a growing memorial at the crash site.

The tow truck driver, 43-year-old Yosef Adhami, doesn’t have a valid driver’s license. Adhami has numerous suspensions from the Department of Motor Vehicles. During his last suspension, he surrendered his license.

Adhami also has a criminal record, including fleeing from police. He was involved in a standoff with police in Lackawannock Township, Pa., in January 2008 after leading officers on a pursuit. Adhami was peppered-sprayed after telling police he had a bomb strapped to his body. No explosives were found. Police had tried to stop him for speeding.

Adhami was listed in grave condition at the hospital.

Poison front man and reality TV star Bret Michaels suffered bumps and bruises as a result of a collision between his tour bus and herd of deer. The accident happened on June 21, 2013 early in the morning en route to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he was scheduled to perform.

“I am thankful there were no serious injuries. It is unfortunate for the deer, but thankfully due to modern RV technology and a steel firewall, we are all okay. I have every intention to make tonight’s show in Biloxi and the tour will continue,” Michaels told the media shortly after the accident.

Michaels was traveling in his brand new tour bus between Abilene, Texas and Biloxi, Mississippi at the time of the crash. Michaels, as well as his driver and head of security, only got minor cuts and bruises when the bus collided with some deer in the road.

Michaels is no stranger to health scares. In 2009 at the Tony Awards, Michaels sustained a fractured nose and split lip after he was hit by a piece of equipment that fell from the ceiling. In 2010, Michaels was hospitalized three times: once with appendicitis, then again with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and a third time after he suffered a stroke, the result of a hole in his heart.

This is Michaels’ second tour bus crash. Back in July of 2009, he was involved in an accident when a car lost control and hit his tour bus in Canada. The car that lost control caused a five-car pile up. No injuries were reported, and Michaels and his crew were “released from the scene” after an investigation.

One of Michaels’ crewmates was involved in a bus crash that ended his VH1 television show. VH1 shut down production of the popular Rock of Love franchise due to a fatal bus accident. One of Bret Michaels’ crewmembers was driving a bus carrying his music equipment. The driver, Dennis Hernandez, was driving with a suspended license.

Police reports state that Hernandez fell asleep while driving and killed two people and injured others. 51 Minds Entertainment crew member Dennis Hernandez was cited for driving with a suspended license and other offenses as his car “crossed over into the northbound lanes of Interstate 57” and struck a pickup truck, seriously injuring two Florida residents inside the truck. Hernandez’s car then smashed into a sports-utility vehicle, killing two.

Bret Michaels released this statement shortly after the accident. “As a father of two, I cannot even imagine what the families must be going through at this time. I will make every attempt to reach out to them to let them know that my heart and prayers are with them during their time of grief.”

Bret is best known for Poison’s hit single in the mid-’80s, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” He also won Season 9 of The Apprentice.

On June 17, 2013, a crash involving a school bus occurred around 1:18 p.m. on Monday afternoon. The crash happened in the 300 block of Blackwood-Clementin Road in Lindenwold, New Jersey.

The crash involved the school bus, a car, and a pedestrian. Investigators found clear tire tracks from where the school bus barreled down the wrong side of the street and struck a Honda Civic. The Honda Civic spun out of control and struck a pedestrian, who was mowing a lawn alongside of the road.

The bus’s dash cam video shows the school bus driver driving far too fast down the wrong side of the road. It also shows cars and a mail truck swerving to avoid a collision with the bus. The video shows the end result, which is the collision with the Honda Civic. Both the car and the bus then hit a church deacon who was mowing grass outside of an auto body shop.

A 9-year-old boy, Alex Palmer, witnessed the entire accident.

“Just out of nowhere, he just comes and runs right over the car. Because this is the bus and this is the car, he is not paying attention. And he just goes right on top of the car. And then it’s just mayhem. The whole front of the bus was like jacked up. It was all like smashed in. And that whole front of the car was smashed,” Palmer told the media.

Danielle Merriel, 38, a teacher from Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, N.J., had to be extracted from the car. Merriel was air lifted to Cooper University Hospital. Family members told local media that she is currently in critical condition but that they are hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

“The bus I guess went over the car and swung into the deacon or something like that and hit him. Well, word is that he got up and walked,” a church member, Jessica Johnson told local media.

When Johnson arrived at the scene of the accident she feared the worst.

“I came up and I saw the cops around, and I saw them pulling a body out of the car. They said she was stable, she was able to move her neck. However, there was blood all over the place,” Johnson said.

The accident is under investigation and at this time police still do not now what caused the driver of the bus to lose control. There were no children aboard the bus at the time of the crash.

The deacon is expected to be released in the next few days. His injuries luckily were not life threatening.

“My heart was pounding, and I got chills down my spine, but just to see that both of them survived, that is so awesome. I thank God that he is alive,” Johnson continued.

Both urine and blood samples were taken from the bus driver. Police expect to file no charges until they get the reports from the toxicology tests.

On Wednesday June 11th, 2013, a two-vehicle accident caused injury when a school bus from Woodstock Jobs Corp Center was traveling eastbound when the driver made a left turn on to Marriottsville Road, driving into the path of an oncoming Honda Civic.

None of the of the 10 students on the bus were injured, but the driver of the Honda Civic was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with non-fatal injuries.

Area police are still investigating the accident, which happened at the intersection of Marriottsville Road in Ellicott City on Route 40.

Also in Maryland, two 12-year-old students from Wilde Lake Middle School suffered minor injuries on Tuesday June 11, 2013 when the bus the students were riding in collided with a van on Cedar Lane.

The area of Cedar Lane between Little Patuxent Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road in Colombia was shut down while the collision was cleared up.

According to police, both vehicles sideswiped each other as they traveled southbound. Two of the students on board were taken by ambulance to Howard County General Hospital with injuries. Both were twelve. A boy and a girl were injured. There were 17 students total on the bus.

According to a police spokesperson, sending the children to the hospital was a “precautionary measure.” Both children’s injuries were “very minor.”

While not in Maryland, another school bus accident occurred on Friday June 7, 2013 in Flemington, New York. This school bus accident sent 23 students to the hospital. The accident happened just before 7 a.m. on Route 12.

According to police, a car lost control in front of the Hunterdon Central High School bus, and as a result, the bus hit the passenger side of 21-year-old Brianna Goring’s vehicle.

Goring, of Raritan Township, was exiting the circle, headed westbound on Route 12, when she lost control of her Dodge Stratus and spun into the eastbound lane of the highway.

Emergency medical crews transported all of the students to an area hospital for a medical evaluation because of “the severity of the accident.” The driver of the bus, Sandra Dagnall, 45, of Pittstown was taken to the hospital with back pain.

Goring was charged with careless driving and police say they are still investigating the accident.

There has been a high number of school bus accidents this year. The majority of them have been caused by a careless driver.

A school bus in Northern Indiana crashed into the back of another bus, causing a chain accident involving a total of four buses. The bus accident left scores injured, but fortunately, no one was killed. Middle and high school students sustained minor injuries while one bus driver sustained a serious injury. The bus accident apparently occurred when one bus stopped to drop off a student. However, the driver of a bus immediately behind the first bus was not able to stop in time and crashed into the first bus. In succession, two more buses joined the chain until the accident involved four buses.

The Kosciusko County Sheriff said that the seriously injured driver had been flown by helicopter to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. The accident occurred 40 miles west of Fort Wayne, where the driver was flown to. The Sheriff further disclosed that the number of students from Wawasee School Corp in the buses totalled more than 100. Students who sustained injuries were treated at the Kosciusko Community Hospital and discharged later on. The hospital’s spokeswoman Joy Lohse said that 43 people were treated at the hospital, but that there were no individuals in need of serious medical attention. She also said she had no further information about how many of those taken to the hospital were students. A nurse at IU Health Goshen Hospital said that the four students who were taken there had been treated and were in good condition. The area Sherriff said that a handful of students may have been handed over to their parents and treated for minor complications later on.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Photos from the bus accident revealed that the bus at the end of the chain sustained quite a large amount of damage on the front. Its hood fell down onto the road, as can be seen in the photos. The front bus was also damaged badly on the back. It was impossible to determine the extent of the damage on the two buses in the middle.

Children who were not injured were immediately transported to Wawasee Middle School via another bus and handed over to their respective parents. The immediate situation of the driver suffering from serious injuries is not known at this time. Although the accident involved more than 100 victims, everyone with the exception of the driver flown to hospital was in good health after treatment. Most of the students didn’t sustain any injuries from the crash.

On June 9, 2013, six school buses taking some two hundred middle school students to Six Flags crashed in Newton County, Georgia. The accident left more than 50 people injured.

As a result of the accident, one of the bus drivers, Angela Anthony, 44, from Midville, Georgia was air lifted from the scene of the crash on westbound I-20 to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Her injuries are listed as serious.

In all, a total of 50 other people were taken to Newton Medical Center for complaints of injury. The crash happened south of Social Circle and east of Covington at the 98-mile marker on I-20.

As the buses slowed down, one bus struck the rear of another, which spurred a chain reaction of crashes among the other buses. A passenger car that was behind the last bus was also involved in the crash.

Emergency personnel from Newton and Morgan counties, the State Patrol, and the cities of Covington and Social Circle responded to the accident. The accident is being investigated.

On June 7th, four people suffered minor injuries in a crash on a downtown traffic circle in New Jersey.

Brianna Goring was driving west on Route 12 around 6:54 a.m., when she lost control of the 2005 Dodge Stratus. Her car spun into oncoming traffic and collided with a Hunterdon Central High School bus.

The bus driver was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center for back pain, and two of the 23 students were also treated at the hospital for minor injuries. Goring received minor cuts on her hands and forearms from shattered glass, but she refused any medical attention. She was issued a summons for careless driving. Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Also on June 7, 2013, police and emergency crews responded to a call in City Heights in San Diego. A SUV collided with a school bus carrying dozens of students.

The crash occurred sometime around 12:30 p.m. at 47th Street and El Cajon Boulevard. Three of the children aboard the school bus were taken to the hospital because of aches and pains.

The driver of the SUV was attempting to make a last-minute left turn when it collided with the school bus. No other injuries were reported.

Every year in the U.S., an average of 131 people are killed in school bus accidents, and about 19,000 people are injured.