Several buses and a big rig truck collided in Flagler County, Florida late in the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2015, resulting in at least four injuries. The crash took place near 11 p.m. on Interstate 95 North near the Palm Coast Parkway exit. Several buses were traveling in a convoy formation, which at least one bus being towed by another, when mechanical troubles caused the bus leading the group to come to a complete halt in the far right lane of the freeway. The buses following also came to a halt, but a big rig truck tailing the bus convoy was unable to hit the brakes in time, resulting in a rear-end crash that caused a chain reaction collision between massive, heavy vehicles.
The bus hit by the rig slammed into the bus in front of it, which in turn smashed into the next bus in the convoy. The convoy was comprised of school buses. The ages and identities of the injured parties is not clear at this time, and although one person was reported as being in serious condition following the collision, all injured parties are expected to survive following treatment and evaluation at an area hospital. The most grievous injuries were sustained by a pedestrian bystander who became trapped between two of the large vehicles during the crash.
Interstate 95 had several northbound lanes closed following the crash as victims were treated and transported and accident debris was cleared from the roadway. All vehicles sustained significant damage as a result of the collision. The only people on board the buses at the time of the crash were the drivers, and investigating officers noted that not one of the buses contained any seats in the passenger transport areas of the buses. It is not known what, if any, school these buses were associated with. The police investigation into the crash remains ongoing at this time.
According to crash statistics released by the Florida’s Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles agency, 28 deaths and more than 1,300 injuries resulted from traffic crashes involving buses in the year 2013, the last year for which data was made available.