Lately, more and more school bus accidents have been reported. We here at Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer.com have been following these stories closely. Parents entrust school officials and bus operators to safely get their children to school. However, tragedy can strike anytime and without warning. We review the 10 Worst School bus accidents we have seen reported in the popular media. If your child has been injured in a bus accident and you have questions about your legal rights in such matters, please contact our office today to answer any questions you may have. Read What to do if you or your child are injured in a school bus accident for more information.
10 Worst School Bus Accidents
-This school bus driver decided to help himself to a drink after dropping off his busload of children. Thankfully nobody was injured in the accident that included a delivery truck. DUI is a serious crime, that a pre-school bus driver would engage in this kind of behavior while driving on duty is a sad shame.
1. Knoxville school bus driver charged with DUI
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Police in Knoxville have charged a school bus driver with DUI and reckless driving after a non-injury crash. WATE-TV quotes a release from police spokesman Darrell DeBusk in reporting 63-year-old Dinah Lynn Patterson McGlothlin of Knoxville was arrested Tuesday morning. Police said the bus she was driving rear-ended a delivery truck stopped for a traffic signal.
-A drug and alcohol related accident occurred in Boyle Heights California. This accident didn’t involve the bus driver being drunk, instead it involved three teenage boys speeding in a BMW and running a red light. Alcohol and drugs impair a drivers ability to drive and make crucial driving decisions on the road. This impairment is worsened with young, inexperienced drivers.
2. Drugs, alcohol suspected in Boyle Heights school bus accident that killed 1, injured 21
The driver in Monday’s crash also is expected to face at least felony hit-and-run manslaughter charges, investigators said. The teens in the black BMW plowed through the intersection of East 1st Street and Soto Avenue at a high speed, ran a red light and struck a 70-year-old man before slamming into the rear of the Roosevelt High school bus. Eduardo Gayton, of Los Angeles, was in the crosswalk when he was hit by the car. CHP Officer John Harris said the three youths fled on foot from the busy intersection and failed to help the victims.
Two of the boys — the 17-year-old driver and a 14-year-old companion — were grabbed by nearby construction workers while the third, whose age was unavailable, was arrested when he turned up at a hospital with injuries from the collision.
All three were initially held on suspicion of hit-and-run, police said. Their names were withheld by police because they are underage.
-School bus accidents can happen anywhere and any time. This accident occurred immediately outside and in front of the elementary school the students were waiting to attend. The driver of the pickup truck, in this case, didn’t see the bus and rear ended it. In a situation like this, if your child is injured, it is crucial to gather as much information about the accident as possible. Be sure to contact the reporting police department, school officials and any witnesses to the accident. Additional information can only help build your case against negligent parties.
3. Several possibly injured in school bus accident in east AL
LADONIA, AL (WTVM) - A Russell County man is recovering after witnesses say the driver of a Nissan pick-up collided with a school bus on Highway 80 in Ladonia, AL near Woodland Dr. The collision resulted in a three-car crash. The Phenix City Police Department says 46-year-old Kevin Lawhorn was the driver of the pick-up. We are told the accident occurred around 3:00 p.m. CST in front of Ladonia Elementary School in east Alabama. Police say the Nissan truck hit the school bus head on, the impact forced the truck to slam into a car.
-This story prompted some people to comment about requiring seat belts be installed and used by all students traveling on a bus. Some issues of concern may be enforcement and costs of installing seat belts. And just because one jurisdiction may require the seat belts does not mean other jurisdictions will follow suit. Seat belt laws are both a federal and state law issue. Read more about: Wreck stirs debate on use of seat belts on school buses here.
4. County sees third school bus wreck
A car recently side swiped a school bus, that didn’t yield the right of way. The news is reporting the accident was caused by the school bus driver. According to the news report:
Carroll County Schools Spokeswoman Elena Schulenburg said the students were on their way to Bay Springs Middle school. “All the kids are safe and were transported to Bay Springs Middle School, where they ate breakfast and returned to class as usual,” Schulenburg said. She said all the students were checked out and cleared by the school’s nurse.
If your child was involved in this accident or a similar accident. You may need to consider additional medical advice and evaluation, especially if your child starts to complain of symptoms such as aches and pains in the back. Most symptoms related to a car accident do not show up for 24-72 hours following the accident, or sometimes even later. Evaluations within 24 hours are essential to establish the severity of trauma, but not necessarily the degree of severity related to soft tissue injury.
5. Boy hit at school bus stop dies
Accidents can happen on a bus or sometimes around a bus. Who is liable for your child’s safety once they leave the house? This can be a difficult question to answer. In this case their are safety issues involved as well as questions to be answered about how exactly this accident happened.
An 8-year-old boy has died from injuries sustained when he was hit by a truck while getting on the school bus, The Augusta Chronicle reported. Cassius Walker, a third grader from Thomson, had been hospitalized since he was struck Oct. 19 as he stepped into the roadway, according to the report.
More about this story here: Thomson School Bus Driver Talks About Accident Where Child Was Struck.
6. Georgia Attorney: 5 injured in school bus wreck
Adults and children alike can be injured in a school bus accident. Awareness and safety around any stopped school bus is crucial. Yellow paint on the bus and flashing red lights are not enough to stop a driver who isn’t paying attention to the road. There may be other circumstances involved in this accident. We have seen drivers incapacitated by drugs and alcohol, distracted while on the phone or texting and any number of other driver distractions. See our post on 4 Reasons Not to Text and Drive.
Two adults and three students were injured when a stopped school bus was rear-ended Wednesday afternoon in Barrow County, the Georgia State Patrol said. The driver of a Jeep Liberty, 24-year-old Tiffany Holcomb struck the rear of the bus while it was stopped to unload children said Gordy Wright, spokesman for the GSP. The lights on the bus were activated at the time of the crash, Wright said.
7. School Bus, Car Collide In Downtown Augusta
Here is another accident that involved a school bus being struck by another vehicle. Details are forthcoming about what circumstances surround this accident.
Augusta, GA – Richmond County deputies are on the scene of an accident, in downtown Augusta. The wreck happened Monday morning at 12th Street and Miller Street, in Augusta. The wreck involved a car and a school bus full of kids. The bus is identified as number 276. We are told the bus was on its way to Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School.
8. Bus Driver Loses Consciousness With College Athletes On board
Accidents are sometimes averted by fast thinking citizens. This accident involved a college volleyball team. The fast acting coach saved the lives of everyone on board the bus.
LIMESTONE COUNTY, AL – It was a nightmarish experience on Interstate 65 near the Tanner exchange. A college volleyball team was headed to a game when their bus driver slumped over in his chair, unconscious. The bus charged on, out of control. “The fact that we kept every body in that bus safe is an absolute miracle,” said Travis Hudson, head coach for the Western Kentucky University girls’ volleyball team.
9. Georgia Lawyer: Teen Killed in Carroll Co. Bus Accident
CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) – The driver of a school bus lost control along a rural northern Georgia highway and overturned Monday, killing a 17-year-old student and sending several others to the hospital, authorities said. The bus carrying 12 students from Temple High School was traveling south on Highway 113 between Temple and Carrollton, some 50 miles west of Atlanta, about 2 p.m. when it left the roadway and crashed into a ditch, said Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright.
Sadly enough tragedy has struck Carroll County three times in the last month. This is the first and most fatal accident to befall this community. We send our thoughts and prayers their way.
10. Georgia Lawyers: Church bus crash victims remembered; deceased and injured identified
Although not involving a school bus directly this accident involved a church group traveling in a 15 passenger van. 4 passengers were fatally killed in the accident.
COLUMBUS, GA – Friends and church members remember those who lost their lives in a church van accident in South Georgia that killed four people and injured fifteen others. The crash happened on U.S. Highway 27, just south of Blakely, Georgia Sunday. Georgia State Troopers say a tire blew out and the driver Kenasha Sledon, 29, lost control of the 1987 Dodge Ram Wagon. Everyone in the 15-passenger van was ejected.
If you or someone you know is injured or killed in school bus or other related accident, please call our office to discuss any questions you have regarding your rights in the accident. Call our office today 1-888-315-8840.
Additional related resources:
School Bus accidents threaten kid’s safety
School Bus Accidents: Tips to Keep Your Children Safe
Article: School bus accidents. (preventive tips)
