School bus accidents are alarming mishaps. Although most accidents involving school buses result in minor to no injuries, there are those few each year throughout the country that end in tragic deaths and serious, lifelong injuries.
This past Thursday, eleven students and a bus driver were hurt when a school bus jumped a curb and smashed into several trees in a small Southern California neighborhood just outside of Anaheim. Police reported that at least three of those injured people, two middle school students and the driver, were taken to area hospitals and said to be in critical condition. The remaining students reportedly suffered only minor injuries and most of them were released to their parents shortly after the accident.
As they came upon the scene, firefighters said that the driver was trapped in the bus and had to be freed. A student on the bus said that he remembers going off the road while the bus was manipulating a bend in the road, hit a lamp post, and then some trees. He also recalled tree branches busting through the windows and leaving a gash in one of his schoolmate's legs. He said that everyone seemed discombobulated after the bus finally came to a rest, but that they were quickly startled when someone yelled for them all to exit the bus as fast as possible because there was gas leaking out onto the road.
One witness was heard telling police that the bus seemed to be travelling faster than normal for a school bus and looked like it went airborne for a brief moment after it hit the curb. It then came "flying down the hill," she said, and "took out trees along the way."
Police told reporters that the school bus did have seatbelts, but that they were unsure of how many students were actually wearing them. There is no word yet on the cause of the accident, but police are investigating. The driver has been given a screening test for drugs and alcohol, but there is still no word on the results or if foul play is suspected.
If your child was injured in a school bus accident, you need a tough, smart attorney who can get to the bottom of the cause of the accident and present evidence against any and all negligent parties. If you have questions about school bus accident law, or any other type of motor vehicle accident, please call the accident attorneys at Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. today for a free preliminary consultation at 800-777-4081.
Source: WKBN, "11 kids, driver hurt in school bus crash" 24 April 2014