Truck and Bus Crash Kills 10, Injures 34 in California
Posted on Apr 14, 2014 1:33pm PDT
In California, a FedEx truck crashed into a tour bus on Thursday, April 10th, resulting in the death of 10 people. 34 others wre reported injured in the fiery crash. The scene of the accident was Orland, California, which is about 100 miles north of Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board are now trying to determine what caused the FedEx truck to cross the median and collide with the bus that was full of high school students.
Fox News says that the FedEx truck veered across the Interstate 5 median and sideswiped a sedan before colliding with the bus. There were no tire marks on the road, which led investigators to believe that the truck driver never applied his brakes. Dozens of injured students escaped through the windows of the bus before the bus and truck both exploded. The blast sent flames high into the air and caused the deaths of the students that were trapped inside the bus.
Witnesses say that the FedEx truck was on fire before colliding with the bus, but the police officers say that their investigations prove otherwise. The bus was carrying 44 high school students from Southern California. They were going to receive a complimentary tour of Humboldt State University. Many of the students aspired to be the first in their family to go to college. Five students died in the collision, along with three adult chaperones and two drivers.
The National Transportation Safety Board says that this accident reinforces the needs for fire-safety rules, emergency exits, and seatbelts in buses. Federal agencies have been slow to heed the call to implement these potentially life-saving features into their buses. The investigation will involve taking blood tests to learn whether or not any of the drivers in the crash were impaired. Doubtless there will be lawsuits filed for wrongful death and injury by the families suffering the loss of their loved ones. If you have been involved in a bus crash or a truck accident, don't hesitate to get a tenacious personal injury lawyer on your side.