Denver Transit Officials Try To Figure Out Reason For Recent Spate Of Fatal Accidents

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Posted on 16th April 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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 Public transit officials in Denver are trying to figure out why there have been a slew of fatal bus crashes this year, according to the Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_14861061

 In just a four-day period in April, four people were killed in accidents involving Regional Transportation District buses. That is more fatalities from bus accidents than any full year from 2005 through 2009, The Post says.

 According to research by the newspaper, in 2005 and 2007 there were no deaths stemming from accidents involving RTD buses.

 RTD has been trying to stem the tide of accidents by having its supervisors deliver safety briefings before drivers go out of the garage in the morning.

In the three lethal accidents in Denver, only one RTD bus driver has been cited for any violations or wrongdoing. Tidenekiyalesh Hawariyat, 30, ran a red light April 3 and crashed into two cars. Two people in a Volkswagen Rabbit were killed, and about 12 others were hurt, including Hawariyat and the driver of one of the vehicles she hit.

 Police pressed charges against Hawariyat, namely two counts of careless driving resulting in death and 11 counts of careless driving resulting in injury.

 In the other fatal accident, a 78-year-old man was hit by a bus in Aurora as it pulled out of a bus stop. And the night after that, a bicycle rider crashed into an RTD bus. That 42-year-old man died of his injuries the next day. 

Because of the rash of fatal accidents, RTD is giving more than 1,000 bus and light-rail drivers a one-hour refresher course on safety procedures, according to the Post.

 

 

 

 

Denver Transit Officials Try To Figure Out Reason For Recent Spate Of Fatal Accidents

 

Public transit officials in Denver are trying to figure out why there have been a slew of fatal bus crashes this year, according to the Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_14861061

 

In just a four-day period in April, four people were killed in accidents involving Regional Transportation District buses. That is more fatalities from bus accidents than any full year from 2005 through 2009, The Post says.

 

According to research by the newspaper, in 2005 and 2007 there were no deaths stemming from accidents involving RTD buses.

 

RTD has been trying to stem the tide of accidents by having its supervisors deliver safety briefings before drivers go out of the garage in the morning.

 

On the three lethal accidents in Denver, only one RTD bus driver has been cited for any violations or wrongdoing. Tidenekiyalesh Hawariyat, 30, ran a red light April 3 and crashed into two cars. Two people in a Volkswagen Rabbit were killed, and about 12 others were hurt, including Hawariyat and the driver of one of the vehicles she hit.

 

Police pressed charges against Hawariyat, namely two counts of careless driving resulting in death and 11 counts of careless driving resulting in injury.

 

In the other fatal accident, a 78-year-old man was hit by a bus in Aurora as it pulled out of a bus stop. And the night after that, a bicycle rider crashed into an RTD bus. That 42-year-old man died of his injuries the next day. 

Because of the rash of fatal accidents, RTD is giving more than 1,000 bus and light-rail drivers a one-hour refresher course on safety procedures, according to the Post.

 

 

 

 

  

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Connecticut Weighs Seat-Belt Law For School Buses

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Posted on 2nd March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Legislators in Connecticut are deciding whether to make seat belts mandatory on public school buses in the state, according to the Hartford Courant.
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ct-seatbelts-buses-0229.artmar01,0,1841006.story

The call for the law was prompted by that Jan. 9 death of a Rocky Hill youth, Vikas Parikh, 16, who died in a school buss accident on I-84. His demise was the spark that led Rep. Antonio Guerrera (D-Rocky), who is co-chairman of the legislature’s transportation committee, to introduce the seat-law bill.

That bill mandates that school buses have lap-and-shoulder belts, but not lap belts. Connecticut lawmakers have tried to past similar legislation 23 times before, with no success, according to the Courant.

Those who are against the bus-seat law argue that it’s unnecessary, because bus seats have enough padding to protect students. Installing the belts is also pricey, critics argue.

Some towns in the Nutmeg state have had seat belts in their school buses for some time, including Danbury, Cromwell, Wilton and Reading.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

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

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Posted on 1st March 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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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.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Two Dead In Florida Tourist Bus Accident

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Posted on 26th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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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

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Dixie State Baseball Teams Gets Minor Injuries in Crash

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Posted on 22nd February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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In a classic irony, we are concerned today that student athletes injured in a bus crash get the same brain injury triage they would likely get now if injured on a ball diamond. Five Dixie State College students sustained minor injuries Sunday when their bus hit a snow-plowing truck in Colorado City, Ariz.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700011082/Injuries-in-baseball-team-bus-crash.html

The school’s Red Storm baseball team was on the bus on Arizona state highway 389 at about 5:15 a.m. when the crash took place.

The bus had been following the snow plow, but that truck stopped unexpectedly when it tried to avoid hitting a car that has spun out of control off the road. The right side of the bus hit the back of the truck.

The five team members were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George and released.

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. It is the period in the 72 hours after the wreck that athletes would be getting seen if there was a sport concussion, that they must be evaluated now to rule out brain injury. We hope someone on the athletic staff at Dixie State makes that connection.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

More than 20 Wedding Guests Killed In Bus Accident in India

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Posted on 18th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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More than 20 people on their way to a wedding were killed Wednesday when their bus fell into a river in India.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/02/17/Bus-crash-in-India-kills-22/UPI-18901266410484/

The accident took place in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state, and killed an estimated 21 or 22 people, according to several press reports. Another 30 people from the bus were hurt during the incident n the village of Maharajpura.

The bus fell into the Pujab River after using a makeshift bridge to cross the river because the regular bridge was having construction done. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/17/india.bus/

Authorities were hunting for the bus’s driver, who fled from the scene of the accident.

This story is so reminiscent of the bus crash that opens the movie Dragonfly, with Kevin Costner. Such a horrible feeling to be in an out of control vehicle, falling off a cliff. Buses of course are far more dangerous in such a crash because the air bags and seat belts that protect against many serious injuries in automobiles don’t exist in buses. We pray that those who were hurt don’t get worse from brain injuries or other injuries that get lost in the shuffle of all of that tragedy.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Our Most Precious Cargo, Our Most Solemn Responsibility

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Posted on 27th March 2009 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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You would probably have to search for a very long time to find anyone who would not agree that the most precious commodity transported on the nation’s highways are our children. They are among our most vulnerable passengers. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children from 2 to 14 years old.

What is more disturbing is the number of school bus crashes which occur in the United States.

safeguard4kids, proponents of seat belts for school buses, lists these NHTSA statistics:

Since different organisations have their own ways of reporting, tracking and calculating school bus accidents and injuries, it is difficult to know how many children are actually injured in school bus accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that school bus crash data is incomplete and that injuries cannot be reliably estimated.1 We do know, however, that lap-shoulder belts can make a significant impact on injury reduction.

* According to the April 2002 NHTSA Report to Congress, every day there are over 144 school bus accidents (26,000 per year) in America and more than 9,500 children are injured in school bus accidents each year.
* According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there were an estimated 51,100 school bus-related injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments from 2001 to 2003, which averages to approximately 17,000 children injured in school bus accidents each year. This is the first study to describe nonfatal school bus–related injuries to U.S. children and teenagers treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments using a national sample. This study identified a much greater annual number of school bus–related injuries to children than reported previously.
* Data from the General Estimates System2 indicates that 13,000 people are injured annually in school bus crashes. Of those injured, 46 percent (5,980) were school bus occupants, 8 percent were school bus drivers, 38 percent were occupants of other vehicles, and fewer than 0.05 percent each were pedestrians, pedal cyclists and non-motorists.

Additionally:

According to 2005 data from NHTSA, an average of 21 school age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year. Six of those deaths occur in school transportation vehicles. This number applies only to daily school routes and does not account for extracurricular activities that take place outside of normal school hours.

When I began posting headlines related to school bus incidents and accidents, I went very quickly from concern to shock at the number of school bus accidents occurring every day in this country. I have read follow up stories of drunk driving arrests among bus drivers and wondered why such stories do not elicit the sort of nationwide outrage that other media stories do. Not only are children the most precious cargo on the road, shouldn’t we trust those responsible for their safety to be beyond reproach character-wise?

What baffles me as well is reading over and over of school-buses being rear-ended by drivers who do not seem to pay much heed to those flashing lights or FREQUENT STOPS warnings, not to mention that a school bus should raise within in all of us a heightened sense of caution and care. I cannot even deliver an analogy as I can not imagine anything more fragile and valuable than our children.

There are plenty of stories of pickups and SUVs colliding with school buses in icy weather. Living in the midwest, I have myself observed the invincible driving attitudes of some of these drivers when road conditions are dangerous. They may think they can tackle an arctic storm without slowing down, but headlines say otherwise.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it is a fact of life that certain times on week days, we can expect that school buses are out on the road. Before we get behind the wheel of our cars and stick the keys in the ignition, we should take a moment to confirm in our minds that there is precious cargo out on those roads and it is the responsibility of each and everyone of us to make sure that cargo is safely delivered to its destination.

Again and again, seat belt regulations for school buses fall through the cracks in state legislation. That means that the burden of the responsibility lies on the shoulders of all of us.

thelegaltimes.net staff article ©2009

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Mexican bus crash kills 11, some Americans

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Posted on 17th March 2009 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 3/17/2009 4:23 PM

By OSCAR VILLALBA
Associated Press Writer

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (AP) — A tractor-trailer slammed into a bus carrying Canadian and U.S. tourists on a northern Mexico highway, killing 11, officials said Tuesday.

Local officials said eight Americans are among the dead, and the U.S. Embassy has confirmed the identities of four, spokeswoman Liz Detter said. The Embassy could not release their names because next of kin had not been notified.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those killed and injured in this tragedy,” Detter said.

Alberto de la Rosa Vizcaino, Civil Protection director in the city of Saltillo, said three Canadians were killed in Monday’s crash.

Canadian foreign affairs spokesman Alain Cacchione said Canadians were involved in the crash but he declined to provide further details for privacy reasons.

One of those killed was Ana Maria Bujanos, a middle-school reading teacher from Brownsville, Texas.

Her husband, Chris Bujanos, said a friend told him Tuesday morning after hearing his wife named as one of the victims on the radio, and a U.S. consulate representative called him to confirm her death.

“Tomorrow would have been our 33rd wedding anniversary, that’s why I’m taking it so hard,” Bujanos said.

Ana Maria Bujanos, 56, who taught at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville, was traveling to Zacatecas with another teacher from Harlingen during their spring break.

She had taken similar trips for years, her husband said. The bus picked them up in Harlingen on Monday morning and was scheduled to return Thursday evening, he said.

Coahuila state police commander Armando Santana said 11 people were killed in the crash and 15 injured. The injured were taken to three hospitals in Coahuila.

Santana said the bus was carrying retirees from McAllen, Texas, to the northern state of Zacatecas. Detter said 19 Americans were on board.

The truck driver apparently lost control and swerved into the bus’s lane on a highway outside Saltillo, Santana said. He said the bus driver was killed and the truck driver was among the injured.

Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said his agency is supporting an investigation.

“The Mexican state and local police will be the lead authorities,” DeBruyne said.

____

Associated Press writers Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas, and Alexandra Olson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Police: Students, others hurt in NY bus crash

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Posted on 25th February 2009 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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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.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

Investigators comb tour bus crash site for clues

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Posted on 2nd February 2009 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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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.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney

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