When a bus driver fell behind on his route he allegedly picked up more speed that he should have for what the road conditions offered, and an accident resulted in the death of two people and injuries for 32. One man, C.O., 77, who is still in a hospital, has had a personal injury lawsuit filed on his behalf, as read in the Dayton Daily News.
Named in the lawsuit for negligence are Rimrock Stage, Inc. and Greyhound Lines. The suit was filed in state district court in Yellowstone County.
The crash occurred on January 8, 2012, when the bus traveled over an icy section of Interstate 90 near Clinton.
Montana Highway Patrol investigators determined that the bus driver gained speeds of 65 to 70 mph before careening from the highway and onto its side. The suit contends that the accident was due to the driver rushing to make it to his next stop in Missoula, and not taking the road conditions into consideration.
Christopher Edwards, one of C.O.’s attorneys, said that the bus driver “was pressured to stay on schedule, and that's the reason he was driving 65-miles an hour on a skating rink.”
Montana law requires that motorists travel at speeds that they deem safe for the current road conditions.
The posted speed limit where the accident occurred was 75 mph.
On the same day of the bus accident other motorists also failed to adhere to safe driving practices. Several crashes were reported, including one that involved another high-profile vehicle: the rollover of a tractor-trailer.
C.O.’s wife, though she was not a passenger in the bus during the crash, is listed as a plaintiff along with her husband. C.O. was in a coma immediately following the crash and continues to suffer with several broken bones.
Rimrock is the company that took over the Billings-to-Missoula route from Greyhound a year ago. Rimrock is named in the lawsuit as a Greyhound contractor.
Eric Forseth, the VP of Rimrock Stages and also a minority owner, said that he had not seen the lawsuit as of yet. He offered that he was aware of the pending investigation into the accident, but that he did not know of any citations or charges against the driver or the company.
Forseth told reporters, “We're taking care of all the bills and we're taking care of all the passengers personal effects and replacing everything that's broken.” He also mentioned that though the two companies do share ticketing services, Rimrock is not directly contracted by Greyhound.
A greyhound spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment by The Associated Press.
The crash occurred just after 7 a.m., approximately 18 miles southeast of Missoula, when the bus was traveling from Billings to Missoula.
The driver was also seriously injured in the crash. Some of the injured were ejected when the bus slid onto its side as it caused the vehicle to bounce and break out the windows on the driver’s side, others were pinned under the bus.
According to a representative of the American Bus Association a veteran driver operated the bus.
Suffering a personal injury, great or small, is grounds for a lawsuit. You should be able to collect for your damages after you contact a personal injury lawyer to file your suit.