Bus Accident Lawyer

This past weekend, 45-year old comedy and acting star Tracy Morgan was critically injured when the limousine bus that he was riding in was struck from behind by a tractor trailer. The incident took at place at 1:00 in the morning, just a few hours after Morgan had completed performing his comedy routine in the state of Delaware. Also riding in the bus with Morgan were comedians Ardie Fuqua and Harris Stanton, both of whom were injured, comedy writer James McNair, who was killed in the accident, and Morgan’s assistant Jeffrey Millea.  The accident occurred on the New Jersey Turnpike and involved a total of six vehicles.

Morgan’s injuries required that he be flown from the scene of he accident to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, New Jersey. There he was treated for a variety of injuries, including broken ribs, a broken leg, a broken femur and a broken nose. Some of his injuries required surgery.

Reports provided by the new Jersey State Police have indicated that the tractor trailer, a Walmart truck was driven by 350year old Kevin Roper. Roper has been charged with four counts of assault by auto and one count of death y auto. He has pled not guilty to these charges. New Jersey State Police Sgt. First Class Gregory Williams said, “Driver failed to observe slow-moving traffic ahead. He observed at the last minute – just prior to impact – the limo bus carrying Morgan and his party.” There are indications that the truck driver had been operating his vehicle without having slept for an extended period of time.

Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon released a statement following the incident, saying, “This is a tragedy and we are profoundly sorry that one of our trucks was involved. We are working quickly to understand what happened and are cooperating fully with law enforcement to aid their investigation. The facts are continuing to unfold. If it’s determined that our truck caused the accident, Walmart will take full responsibility.”

He went on to say, “Safety is our absolute highest priority, but that is no comfort whatsoever to the families and friends who are suffering today. We offer them our deepest condolences. We can’t change what happened, but we will do what’s right for the family of the victim and the survivors in the days and weeks ahead.”

In a freak accident, four passengers were injured when their commuter bus was struck by a car tire that crashed through the windshield of their vehicle. The bus was heading south on New Jersey’s Route 17 when a northbound 2009 Lexus lost its front left tire. The tire, complete with its rim, flew over the median into oncoming traffic and crashed through the windshield of the bus, wreaking havoc. The bus driver skillfully maneuvered the vehicle onto the shoulder, avoiding additional injuries or accidents.

The incident took place at approximately 7:30 in the morning. The Pine Hill Trailways bus was heading to New York City from its starting point of Kingston, New York when the incident occurred. According to passenger John Ditmars, “It happened so fast, but it was sort of like crash, smash, right through the windshield like a cannonball.”

Witnesses to the scene indicated that shortly afterwards there was a strong police and ambulance response, and a medevac helicopter arrived to transport the injured away. One man, a 49-year old from Rosendale, New York, was sitting immediately behind the driver and was hit in the face by the tired. He was seriously injured and taken by airlift in critical condition to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey.  Also injured were the bus driver and two other passengers who were all treated and released on the same day.

The driver that lost the tire of her vehicle managed to pull over and was not injured, though she was severely shaken by the incident. At the time of the accident the bus was carrying approximately fifty passengers.  According to one witness to the accident, the bus driver’s response to the emergent situation was remarkable. “I don’t know exactly where that tire came off, but to pull that bus to the side of the road without going off the road or hitting another vehicle was a miracle.” According to the bus company, the driver has a long record with the company and is one of their most experienced. Many agreed that the situation would have been much worse without his quick thinking.

Though the accident was investigated by local police departments and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, no charges have been filed against the driver of the Lexus.

The driver of a MBTA bus that was involved in a dramatic crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike has been charged with obstruction of justice, speeding, operating to endanger and impeded operation following the discovery that she was holding a cell phone in her hand at the time of the crash. The accident injured eight passengers and left the vehicle hanging over the turnpike from an overpass in Newton.

The Route 57 bus had been traveling on the Washington Street overpass in Newton when it suddenly veered off of the road and rammed into the guardrail. When it finally came to a stop it was with one wheel in the air. There were no other vehicles involved. Among the injured were the 43-year old driver, who has worked for the transit company for almost ten years, and several passengers. None of the injuries were life-threatening, but clean up of the accident required both the Newton Fire Department and state Department of Transportation engineers, who had to secure the bus before removing it from the scene.  Debris was also found on the highway below, closing several lanes of the highway.

A subsequent investigation determined that despite the driver’s insistence that the accident had been caused by a sneezing fit caused by seasonal allergies, onboard video cameras revealed that she was holding a cellphone in her left hand. The video showed that the phone had skidded across the floor of the bus and that she had hurriedly recovered it before paramedics arrived on the scene. Prior to this incident, the driver had been involved in three separate crashes since 1994, and had received citations for speeding, seat belt violations, failure to stop and improper passing. The driver’s personal license had never been suspended and was in good standing, meaning that MBTA had not received notification of any of the violations. It is against MBTA regulations for any of their drivers to have a cellphone in their possession while working, and the driver, Shanna Shaw, had told police that she did not have one with her at the time of the crash.

A passenger on the bus, Jerome Higgins, indicated that he is a regular rider of the route and that he knew that the vehicle was travelling too fast.

There is an ongoing investigation into the cause of a fatal accident between a bus and several vehicles in the state of Wyoming. The accident took place earlier this week on Highway 59, just outside of the town of Gilette. Three people were killed in the accident.

According to Lt. Will Zilka of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the highway was under construction on Wednesday morning when the incident occurred. The time was approximately 7:30 and only one lane of the road was available to traffic. Safety personnel had traffic stopped on both sides as a pilot car led lines of cars northbound and southbound. “The northbound traffic was waiting for their turn when the bus came on them and collided with them.” Major Perry Jones indicated that the bus was moving extremely fast.

The Powder River Transportation bus was carrying approximately two-dozen employees of local Powder River Basin coalmines. None of the passengers on the bus were injured, but when the bus ran up on the waiting vehicles, chaos followed. The crash involved eight vehicles in total and ended with two large pick up trucks piled on top of each other, the bus on top of one of them and three people in those cars dead.  Three others were taken to Campbell County Memorial Hospital, though their conditions were not released.

Highway 59 serves as the main route between the town of Douglas and the Wyoming border with Montana. There are several coalmines in the vicinity, and the mines hire buses to carry workers to and from their work. The bus that caused the accident was taking workers back following the 7 a.m. shift change. The coalmines work around the clock, so buses are constantly traversing the roadway.

Though the accident investigation is ongoing, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has indicated that the bus driver may have been operating the bus with the cruise control function on. There is no indication yet as to why the driver did not stop for the well-marked construction zone.

The three men killed in the crash were identified as 37-year old Colin Schultz, 40-year old Christopher Joubert and 55-year old Charles Errington. The associate director of corporate affairs for Powder River Transportation, Sean Hughes, released a statement indicating that the company’s number one priority is safety. “Powder River Transportation is cooperating fully with local officials. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are involved.”

One man is in critical condition and over thirty children were sent to local hospitals following a serious school bus accident that took place in Lincoln County, Kentucky.

According to witnesses there were two different school buses traveling on Thornhill Lane, in an area called Cash Hill which has been long identified as being a particularly dangerous road. One of the buses was apparently about to strike the other from behind, and in order to avoid the rear end collision the driver apparently tried to take evasive action. Kentucky State Police Trooper Robert Purdy said, “The bus swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid that collision and ended up striking a white pickup truck head on.”

The white pick up truck was being driven by 36-year old William Otis Coleman. Family members have indicated that he is in critical condition at the UK Hospital, and that he is showing some improvement after doctors there installed a special tube designed to alleviate swelling he was experiencing in his brain.

The scene of the accident had recently undergone some renovations specifically because it had presented dangers in the past. According to one witness, “There’s two sharp curves close together and people drive too fast. I don’t know what caused this accident.”

In addition to William Coleman, the decision was made to take more than thirty children to local hospitals. Though officials had initially indicated that none of the children had been injured, that decision was modified. A bus took most of the children, though three were transported by ambulance. According to Don Gilliam of Lincoln Emergency Management, “A lot of times after a wreck, sudden trauma, you start to have aches and pains you didn’t know you had. Your adrenaline is pumping pretty good.”  Though most of the children were treated and released, one child needed to be admitted to Ephraim McDowell Hospital, though no further information was provided as to their condition.

There is no word on the condition of the bus driver, 44-year old Judy Asberry of Hustonville,  nor has any information been released regarding her previous driving record or years of service with the bus company or school district. The police are continuing to investigate the accident, which shut down Kentucky 78 for several hours.

In September of 2013, a bus owned by the Front Street Baptist Church was involved in a horrific collision on Interstate 40 that claimed the lives of six church members, as well as a passenger of one of the vehicles it struck and the driver of another. The accident has been under investigation over the last several months, and on Monday the members of the church, as well as the community of Statesville, Tennessee, received the final word from police regarding the fatal accident that claimed so many of their loved ones and friends. The incident has been ruled a traffic event, with nobody to blame.

The decision regarding the cause of the accident was announced via a press conference that aired out of Knoxville on a local television Channel, and was privately viewed by the church’s leader, Pastor Tim Stutts, along with several of his staff members.

The crash took place on October 2, 2013. According to investigators, the 1997 Metrotrans Europa Motorcoach that was carrying eighteen church members was travelling westbound on the highway when its front left tire failed. The bus driver lost control of the bus and subsequently crossed the median and went through the barrier on the opposite side of the highway. It continued into eastbound traffic where it struck a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe as well as a 2014 Volvo tractor trailer before flipping onto its side. Of the 18 church members onboard the church-owned bus, five were ejected from the vehicle and one was killed inside the bus. The Tahoe was carrying two passengers, one of whom was killed, as was the driver of the truck. More than a dozen others sustained injuries.

The accident investigation results were announced by Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Tracy Trott, who was flanked by members of the Critical Incident Response Team, the country’s emergency services director, the sheriff and mayor of Jefferson County and the District Attorney for the local Judicial District. According to Trott, “This was a tragic event that claimed the lives of eight individuals by no fault of any one person. We tasked local troopers, members of our Critical Incident Response Team and Criminal Investigation Division to conduct a thorough investigation that found no evidence of impairment on any drivers involved in the crash, no evidence that the drivers were distracted and no evidence that the bus was not well-maintained. This tragedy was the result of blunt-force impact to the front tire that weakened its internal structure and caused the tire’s failure. There was no evidence of any pre-existing condition to the tire. It was an accident and we continue to keep those affected in our thoughts.”

The tragic crash of a FedEx delivery truck and a charter bus carrying college hopefuls to a tour of a college campus resulted in several deaths, including five high school students, both vehicle drivers and three adult chaperones. The accident took place when the FedEx vehicle crossed over a median and crashed head-on into the bus, which burst into flames. Though many of the students who were on board were able to kick out windows and escape, those who could not get out perished. Less than two weeks after the event, the first lawsuit has been filed against FedEx, the owner of the charter bus, and the estate of the FedEx driver.

The wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It is being filed by Rosa Rivera, the mother of one of the students who perished in the accident. Rivera’s daughter Jennifer Bonilla was 17-years old and according to her mother had been awarded a college scholarship and was slated to the first in their family who would have attended college. The lawsuit seeks $100 million dollars in damages. Though no other suits have been filed, it is anticipated that more will follow from family members of the other victims, as well as those who were surviving passengers.

The accident took place on April 10^th in Northern California, and though the suit claims that the FedEx truck was on fire at the time of the accident, investigators from the National Highway Transportation Safety Board as well as those from the California Highway Patrol have indicated that they do not yet know what the cause of the accident was. According to the lawsuit, FedEx has a history of negligence in the operation of its freight trucks. The suit claims that there have been incidents involving the delivery company’s trucks catching fire in the past, due to mistakes made by the vehicles’ drivers, vehicles being loaded improperly and mechanical problems.  The suit also names Silverado Stages, the owners of the bus, charging that the company did not properly outfit the bus with adequate escape routes and emergency exits.

Silverado Stages representatives have not commented on the lawsuit. FedEx Corporation issued a statement reading, “Our heartfelt condolences remain with everyone affected by this tragic accident. We remain focused on providing support to those affected and cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation. This is not the time for us to discuss potential litigation.”

A group of California high school students were headed to a much-anticipated tour of Humboldt State University last Thursday when their bus was struck by an apparently out-of-control FedEx truck which had crossed over the median strip and driven directly into them.

The charter bus was 90 miles north of Sacramento when the collision occurred on Interstate 5. There were more than thirty people taken to local area hospitals for treatment of their injuries, while both the bus driver and the truck driver were killed, as well as five students and three of their chaperones. According to Officer Tracy Hoover of the California Highway Patrol, the injuries were largely minor. “Many of them had cuts, contusions, bumps, minor burns. I know there was one person when we arrived on scene that was on fire.” Many of those killed had to be identified through their dental records because their bodies were so badly burned.

According to witnesses, the accident took place at approximately 5:45 p.m. The FedEx truck sideswiped a vehicle travelling on the same side of the road that it was on, then crossed the median and struck the bus. It is not clear as to why the driver crossed the median, though there were some reports that the truck was on fire when it traversed the highway. Investigators reported that there were no tread marks evident at the scene, indicating that the driver had not tried to stop his vehicle. The impact of the collision and subsequent explosion destroyed the FedEx truck’s black box, making it more difficult for investigators to determine what the cause of the accident was.

The trip to the college involved three charter buses loaded with more than forty teenagers from thirty one different Southern California high schools. It was specifically aimed at low-income and first generation college prospects and involved a two-day trip that enabled the teens to spend the night in residence halls and meet staff and students through a variety of events. The other two buses completed the trip to the school.

The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that they will be assisting in the investigation of the accident, and according to NTSB representative Mark Rosekind, “One, we’re going to be investigating the human, the machine and the environment, and what’s critical for us especially in highway accidents is for us to collect perishable information, the kind of information that goes away very quickly. And then the most important thing we can do is issue recommendations so that these kinds of accidents don’t happen again.”

One of Philadelphia’s SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) buses was involved in a serious accident last week when a passenger car ran a red light and crashed into the vehicle.

According to initial reports, the bus was travelling near the intersection of 11^th Street and Vine Street, a busy intersection, when a White Mazda driven by a 25-year old woman sped through a red traffic signal on the Vine Street Expressay and slammed into the bus, which was driving north on 11th.

The force of the collision threw the 57-year old bus driver from his seat and possibly caused him to experience a seizure or some other medical condition. With no driver, the bus careened out of control, striking three vehicles that were parked on the street and knocking a street light 75 feet down the street. The episode ended when one of the bus’ passengers jumped out of their seat, took over the wheel of the vehicle, and pulled the bus over to safety.

Alphonso Blackwell, one of 30 riding the bus at the time, said “A lot of older people that was in the front that were standing up that got hurt too. They fell.”

According to another one of the passengers, “It slammed into the wall and kept going. Some lady had to jump out of her seat and go and stop the bus because he was out of it after that. The lady that was driving this white car, she was in the wrong all the way.”

According to a spokesperson from SEPTA, there were almost two dozen non-life threatening injuries to passengers as a result of the accident. Twenty of them were to passengers, who were taken to various nearby hospitals. The two passengers in the striking vehicle also required medical attention. The bus driver was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Though the passengers onboard suffered bumps and bruises, they expressed gratitude for the fact that the accident was worse, and indicated that it was amazing that nobody had died as a result of the incident. “It was scary as hell. It was really scary. Your life really does flash before your eyes. I’m just happy nobody died.”

The woman who caused the accident had to be removed from her vehicle via the jaws of life. She and her 29-year old female passenger were also taken to Hahnemann University Hospital.

The first day of April saw a fatal accident in Albertson, Long Island, New York when a man driving a pick up truck crossed over the painted lines in the middle of the road and crashed head-on into a charter bus. The accident took place on Roslyn Road, which has been the site of a number of serious accidents over the last several months.

According to witnesses, 43-year old Facundo R. Ponce was driving his black 2006 Dodge Dakota at 9:00 in the morning at a high rate of speed. He apparently lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the yellow line. An MCI bus was driving north on the same road. The bus driver swerved in an attempt to avoid the collision but was unsuccessful. Immediately after the accident the bus then crashed into a nearby tree. Ponce was declared dead at the scene of the accident by emergency responders.

Inspector Kenneth Lack of the Nassau County Police Department said, “According to witnesses it was driving excessively fast, lost control of the vehicle and collided with the coach bus.”

It took an hour for the bus driver and his single passenger to be freed from their vehicle; witnesses indicated that emergency services needed to use ladders and the jaws of life  before finally reaching into the bus through the windows in order to get access to the injured, one of whom was then passed out of those same windows on stretchers. The two were finally transported to a nearby hospital for the treatment of serious injuries. Both the 60-year old driver and his 38-year old passenger were listed in critical condition. There is no information available as to where the bus was headed.

The police have impounded Ponce’s vehicle to inspect it to determine whether it met safety regulations: the bus was inspected on the scene and released. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage to their front ends.

In a statement released after the accident, Coach Bus Company said that their company’s top priority is safety. They also extended good wishes to the victims, saying, “Our thoughts are with those who are involved.”

According to neighbors, Roslyn Road has been the scene of several traffic fatalities and serious accidents in the last several months, including the death of two teens who crashed into a backyard, and a 98-year old man whose car ran into a garbage truck.