Bus Accident Law Blog » bus accident and brain injury

More Than 30 Dead As Bus Plunges Into Nepal River

gjohnson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:24:22 +0000

A crowded bus fell off a cliff in west Nepal and plunged into a river Thursday, killing more than 30 people. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/18/nepal.bus.crash/

The accident happened in a remote area, with the bus tumbling off a mountain road more than 600 feet into the Karnali River. The incident took place near the village of Pipalkot, which is 250 miles west of Katmandu. http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1207175〈=eng_news

Responders, 100 police and soldiers, had recovered 33 bodies, and were still searching. Ten bus passengers who were injured we sent to local hospitals for treatment.

The dead included eight women, a baby and 21 men.

There are frequent accidents in Nepal because of the overcrowding of buses; bad road conditions; and poorly maintained roads and vehicles.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/18/world/international-uk-nepal-crash.html

San Antonio Bus Accident Kills Two, Injures Dozens

gjohnson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:53:14 +0000

Two people were killed and several dozens injured Tuesday in an accident on Interstate 37 about 55 miles of San Antonio, Texas.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/88142227.html

The victims of the crash were Christina Campos, 62, of Lewisville and Efrain Cominquez-Valenzuela, 27, of Brownsville. About 40 other passengers were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The bus had left San Antonio and was traveling toward the United States-Mexico border, to Matamoros, when passengers heard a noise, which was then followed by the bus falling on its side in a grassy area. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ijguxOycaJH5NkjxzPOjz_cXzv-AD9EGDQD00

Passengers had to escape by crawling out of windows and the emergency exit. Police are investigating the cause of the accident, but they suspect equipment failure.

As always, we are concerned about the potential for brain injury in the survivors. Buses don’t have the safety equipment that would prevent brain injury and from the sounds of this crash, passengers may have been thrown around inside the bus during the accident. Anyone hurt should make sure they return to the Emergency Room the next day if they have any problems with amnesia, confusion, dizziness, headache, or any other concussion related symptoms.

Two Women In Bus Crash Win $7.5 Million From NYC Transit

gjohnson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Sometimes, it is actually best to just settle, as New York City Transit found out last week. That’s when a jury awarded two Brooklyn women who were hurt in a bus accident $7.5 million in damages from the transit authority, according to the New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/02/28/2010-02-28_bus_crash_vics_win_75m_in_transit_suit.html

The transit authority plans to appeal the verdict that was rendered in favor of Brenda Whaley and Amanda Wade, who were awarded $7.25 million and $250,000, respectively.

The two women were driving in a car in Brooklyn in 2005 when a city transit bus ran a red light and struck their vehicle. The financially ailing transit authority had a chance to settle the case for $3 million, but decided not to.

The two victims then filed suit, and won the multi-million dollar award.

Two Dead In Florida Tourist Bus Accident

gjohnson — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:20:00 +0000

Two people were killed, and dozens were injured, in a crash Monday involving a tourist bus in Florida.

The bus, which was transporting a group of elder hostel visitors, was struck by a car that turned in front of it north of Lake Placid. The tourists were part of a South Florida Community College program.

In the crash on U.S. 27 passengers were thrown from the bus and were thrown around the inside of the vehicle. As we said in our last blog:

Bus accidents are a perfect storm for brain injury because none of the safety devices which have made cars safer are typically found on buses. Buses usually have no seatbelts (even if they do they are almost only lap belts) and no airbags. Further, buses are exempt from other safety mandates which apply to cars.

For more on the process of brain injury and the necessary interventions to properly avoid a worse result, see http://subtlebraininjury.com

Bus Overturns And Injures 19 Soldiers in Florida

gjohnson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:03:00 +0000

Nineteen soldiers were injured when a National Guard bus overturned in Florida Tuesday, the First Coast News reported. http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/mostpopular/news-article.aspx?storyid=151488&provider;=top

The accident took place in Clay County on state Road 21 not far from Gold Head Branch State Park, north of Keystone Heights.

The passengers on the bus were 30 soldiers from the 690th Military Police Company of Crystal River, Fla. The unit, which is based near Tampa, was moving in a convoy of four buses not far from Camp Blanding. One of the buses slowed down, and the bus behind it swerved and then overturned, injuring the armed military inside of it.

The soldiers who needed treatment were taken to Shands Gainesville, Shands Medical Clinic in Stark and Orange Park Medical Center.

The rest of the soldiers were required to go to Camp Blanding for counseling, which is mandatory when a Florida National Guard solider is involved in an accident or a traumatic event.

Man Killed in Illinois Head-On Collision With School Bus

gjohnson — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:15:00 +0000

A man driving a pickup truck was killed Wednesday in a head-on crash with a school bus in the East Saint Louis area of Illinois.

The accident took place as snowy weather made roads slick. The man driving the truck, who wasn’t identified, was driving west on Douglas Road and crashed near Kraft Road, according to the Belleville News-Democrat of Belleville, Ill. For the full story, see http://www.bnd.com/179/story/1107676.html?storylink=omni_popular

There were no children on the bus. The bus driver was hurt and was brought to a local hospital for treatment.

St. Clair County sheriff’s officers blamed the accident on the driver going to fast and the inclement weather.

In any case involving a skidding accident, such as this one, an investigation should be made as to whether the tires of the vehicle which lost control, were improperly placed or rotated. If the vehicle had two new or newer tires on the front, instead of the back, then this would likely cause severe inability to control the vehicle after hydroplaning begins. The tires with the greater tread need to go on the back, not the front. See http://fishtail.tv

Police: Students, others hurt in NY bus crash

gjohnson — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:04:00 +0000

Date: 2/25/2009

MIDDLE ISLAND, N.Y. (AP) — Police in New York say 17 students and their driver were taken to hospitals after a school bus collided with a truck on Long Island. None of the injuries is considered serious.

The wreck occurred around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Middle Island. The bus was from the Longwood School District. School district officials and the bus company haven’t returned phone calls seeking comment.

Police say the students were involved in an after-school activity, but they are unsure what it was. The victims’ names have not been released.

The front end of the truck was badly damaged, and many of the bus’ windows were smashed. The truck driver also has been hospitalized.

A police officer was hit by a car while directing traffic surrounding the accident, suffering a serious but not life-threatening back injury. The car’s driver was not charged with any crime.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Investigators comb tour bus crash site for clues

gjohnson — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Date: 2/1/2009

By FELICIA FONSECA and AMANDA LEE MYERS
Associated Press Writers

DOLAN SPRINGS, Ariz. (AP) — Federal investigators on Sunday closely examined a stretch of rural Arizona highway near Hoover Dam looking for clues to the cause of a tour bus crash that killed seven Chinese tourists.

The six investigative team members would be measuring and photographing the site, evaluating the condition of the highway, and looking for skid marks and other clues, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said.

“These markings can be very important in telling the story of what happened,” Knudson said.

The bus crashed Friday on a straight stretch of U.S. 93, about 70 miles southeast of Las Vegas.

The tourists had left Las Vegas early Friday on a trip to the Grand Canyon, and were returning when the bus veered right and then left across the median, rolling at least once before resting across the southbound lanes of the highway.

Along with the seven people killed, 10 others were injured.

After inspecting the crash site, the investigators planned to head south to Kingman to evaluate the bus. That will include checking whether the wheels and brakes were in good working order and whether any mechanical malfunctions may have caused the accident, Knudson said.

He said the investigators also plan to interview the 48-year-old bus driver, who was in fair condition at a Las Vegas hospital, and the surviving passengers.

“The more people we talk with, the more information we’ll be able to get,” he said.

The investigation will take 12 to 18 months to complete, with the bulk of the work being conducted at the NTSB’s headquarters in Washington, Knudson said.

Representatives of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said they likely will have some preliminary results this week.

“Was it mechanical failure? Was it driver error?” DPS spokesman Lt. James Warriner said. “All that will come with looking at the vehicle and conducting interviews.”

Warriner said of the weather at the time of the wreck that it was a “nice, clear day.”

The DPS said the bus belonged to D.W. Tours of San Gabriel, Calif., which didn’t respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Five people remained hospitalized Sunday at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Two were in critical condition.

Hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said the victims’ injuries ranged from spinal and head injuries to bone fractures. “It ran the whole gamut of injuries,” he said.

Volunteers from the Chinese community in Las Vegas crowded the hospital’s trauma unit Saturday, hoping to help with translation and taking food to the families of the injured.

Huang Xiaojian from the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles also was at the hospital but said she would not discuss details. “I am here to visit the patients,” she said.

Two others — an 18-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man in fair condition Sunday — were at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, according to hospital spokeswoman Ashlee Seymour. Another was still being treated at Kingman Regional Medical Center, hospital spokesman Ryan Kennedy said.

___

Associated Press Writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Accidents involving buses between US, Mexico

gjohnson — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:15:00 +0000

Date: 10/7/2008 3:17 AM

By The Associated Press

A look at some accidents since 2002 in the United States involving bus companies that shuttle passengers between the U.S. and Mexico.

— Jan. 2, 2008: One person was killed and dozens of other passengers were injured, including a woman whose right arm was amputated, when a bus traveling from Monterrey, Mexico, to Houston veered off U.S. 59 near Victoria, Texas, and flipped on its side. Authorities said the driver, Roberto Garcia Cruz, fell asleep and was driving with the wrong kind of commercial license, both misdemeanors.

— Nov. 25, 2007: Four people were killed after a bus traveling near Earle, Ark., crossed the median and hit a pickup truck and semitrailer. Three passengers and the pickup truck driver died. More than 20 others were injured. The driver, Felix Badillo Tapia, was charged with four counts of felony negligent homicide after tests showed he had amphetamines in his system.

— Jan. 18, 2006: A Salvadoran man was killed after the commercial van he was riding in hit a patch of black ice near Green River, Utah, lost control and flipped over, ejecting him. A lawsuit filed by his family accuses the drivers of going too fast and violating federal rules limiting the amount of time they could drive in a 24-hour period.

— Aug. 1, 2005: A commercial van owned by Houston-based Transportes Diamante was involved in a single vehicle accident in Montgomery, Ala. The driver lost control of the van, which traveled over several lanes of traffic before overturning, injuring passengers, according to court records.

— Oct. 29, 2004: One person was killed and several others were severely injured after a van owned by Houston-based Transportes Tania was involved in a crash in Cherry Hill, N.J. Liability for the accident was placed on the driver.

— Sept. 20, 2002: Several passengers were injured after a bus operated by Dallas-based Autobuses Lucano Inc. and Houston-based Tres Amigos Tours went off the road and hit a tree in Jasper County, Miss., because the driver and replacement driver tried to switch seats while the bus was moving at 70 mph. A Mississippi jury awarded one of the injured passengers $5 million. The award was overturned on appeal and the case is set for retrial.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Summary

Nephew: Ind. bus driver grieving students’ deaths

gjohnson — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Date: 9/27/2008 7:38 PM

By RICK CALLAHAN
Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The driver of a school bus struck by two dump trucks in rural northern Indiana is devastated that the four special-needs students she was taking home died in the crash, a relative said Saturday.

Debbie DuVall, 46, of Idaville, was seriously injured when the Twin Lakes School Corp. bus she was driving was struck Friday afternoon by two trucks about 70 miles north of Indianapolis.

Her nephew, Ryan DuVall of Fort Wayne, said Saturday that his aunt remained in intensive care but that her injuries were not life-threatening.

He said she was alert and conscious when she arrived at the hospital and was grief-stricken when told that the children she was driving home had died.

“The first thing she asked about was the condition of the kids. She wanted to know how the kids were, and the news was devastating for her. They were very dear to her,” Ryan DuVall said.

“Her family is feeling blessed that she came out of this the way that she did, but at the same time our thoughts, and especially hers, are with the families.”

The four children, ages 5 to 10, lived in nearby Monticello and attended schools in Logansport that catered to their special needs, Indiana State Police said.

The victims were identified by police as 5-year-old Lauren Melin, 9-year-old Kale Seabolt, and Trevor Ingram and Tyler Geiger, both 10.

Friday’s crash occurred when a Mack dump truck swerved to avoid a motor scooter that had stopped or slowed along U.S. 24 west of Logansport. The truck clipped the 15-passenger bus, which flipped on its side and slid into the path of a second Mack truck that struck its roof.

The bus then slid into a ditch and came to rest, its front end and roof crushed.

All four students and DuVall were wearing seat belts or sitting in a child safety seat.

State police Sgt. Tony Slocum said investigators returned to the crash scene Saturday to take photographs, make measurements and scour the crash site for evidence they may have overlooked after Friday’s crash.

State police experts were examining the crushed wreckage of the bus and the two dump trucks for any mechanical problems that could have contributed to the crash, he said.

Routine toxicology tests are pending on the three drivers. The driver of the motor scooter, Raymond Gust, 59, was not tested because he was not technically involved in the crash, Slocum said.

Gust had stopped or slowed to turn into the driveway of his home on the north side of the highway just before the crash, Slocum said.

In the coming days, Slocum said, troopers will conduct additional interviews with witnesses, Gust and the truck drivers, Terry Dixon, 53, and Joe Magers, 44, both of Logansport.

When she is well enough to speak to officers, DuVall will also be interviewed.

Slocum said it’s too early to speculate on the possibility of charges in the crash. Once the report reconstructing the events that led to the crash and the various witness accounts are compiled, a Cass County prosecutor will determine whether to file charges.

“We’re not leaving any stone unturned. We owe that to the families, at least, to make sure we’ve covered all the bases,” Slocum said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.