No seat belts and number of passengers factors in school bus accidents.
Public, charter, or school bus accidents can be devastating due to not only the number of passengers carried inside a bus but also because most buses are not equipped with, or do not require riders to utilize seat belts.
According to the Center for National Truck and Bus Safety Statistics, the most common fatal bus related accidents are car-bus collisions and pedestrian accidents such as the charter school bus crash that occurred in Goodyear at the intersection of Van Buren Street and Estrella Parkway.
According to Russ Braden, a battalion chief with the Goodyear Fire Department, a flatbed pickup truck struck the back of the school bus.
Witness reports claim the driver of the pickup truck ran the red light at the intersection and hit the bus as it turned left.
Braden said 14 students were riding on the Bradley Academy of Excellence bus.
“There was this car, and it was going really, really fast, and there was smoke coming out of the back; it hit my bus on the back wheel,” said student EmmaLeigh Woodruff.
12-year old student and bus driver taken to hospital in school bus accident
Firefighters say the driver of the pickup truck suffered the most injuries. The driver of the school bus and a 12-year-old student were taken to the hospital as a precaution for minor injuries.
The rest of the students were checked out by firefighters on scene. They were scared, but otherwise okay.
“I felt really scared,” said one student. “I felt like the earth was crumbling and it was just terrible,” said student Daniela Andrade.
Coincidentally, students had just practiced for an emergency situation.
“We actually just did our bus evacuation drill last week,” the school’s director of transportation, Wilbur Reid. “All the kids actually knew what to do.”
Police are still investigating the reason for the crash. Witnesses at the scene indicate the driver of the pickup was at fault and that speed was a factor.
“This was a reckless driver going way too fast,” said parent Chelsea Woodruff. “Slow down and obey traffic signals.”
Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC
Website
