Posts Tagged ‘Virginia bus wreck kills four’

Commercial vehicle drivers have a high duty of care, including those who drive city transit, mass transit and interstate buses. Bus drivers are responsible for the lives of others when they get behind the wheel.

Tragically, four people were killed and dozens more injured after a commercial tour bus overturned early Tuesday on Interstate 95 in central Virginia. The bus held fifty-eight passengers.

When Virginia State Police got to the scene, the bus was resting upside down on its roof about a quarter mile south of the Carmel Church exit. It was described as a single-vehicle crash, and officials said it ran off the right side of the road.

The driver of the bus suffered minor injuries and is reported to be cooperating with investigators who are trying to determine what caused the crash.
The bus full of passengers left Greensboro, N.C., Monday at 10:30 p.m., and was en route to New York City’s Chinatown when it crashed. Victims of the crash were being treated at area hospitals.

The bus wreck shut down the northbound lanes of I-95 of traffic, and the roads weren’t expected to reopen for several hours.
Bus wrecks can have a myriad of causes, from driver error and/or inattention, cell phone use by the driver, texting and driving, mechanical problems with the bus, distractions, and others.

To combat mechanical issues, Federal authorities say nearly 2,800 spot safety checks of passenger buses across the country from March 28 through April 6 resulted in about 10 percent of the vehicles or drivers being taken off the road.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Tuesday announced the results of the surprise inspections carried out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state and local law enforcement agencies.

The inspections took place from March 28 through April 6.

Federal transportation authorities say 289 drivers or buses were taken off roadways. Three-hundred buses were removed from service out of 3,000 inspections during an earlier 17-day series of spot checks.

The focus on surprise inspections follows deadly accidents involving cut-rate passenger buses, including the March 12 crash of a casino bus in New York City that killed 15 people.

At Montes Law Group, we represent victims of bus crashes and commercial vehicle wrecks. We investigate early and thoroughly, find the cause, and bring justice to innocent victims of negligence. If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus wreck, commercial vehicle wreck, or other type of negligent conduct, call us today.

Rachel E. Montes, voted Best Lawyer Under 40 in Dallas, D Magazine, Texas Super Lawyer, Best Lawyer in Dallas 2010.
Graduate, Trial Lawyers College.

Board of Directors: Dallas and Texas Trial Lawyers Association