A total of 72 people were taken to a hospital including 3 or 4 children who were airlifted away from the scene after a tractor trailer rear-ended a school bus, sending it crashing in to another school bus in front of it.
According to reports from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred in Grand Ridge, FL at around 7:00am on Wednesday while kids were being picked up for school. A truck rear-ended a stopped school bus which had stopped to let more children on. The impact sent the bus forward into the bus in front of it, injuring the truck driver, both bus drivers, and 69 students.
Injuries ranged from minor wounds to broken bones to bruised organs, but no injuries that were considered life-threatening.
Before the crash, the bus had its lights flashing and its stop sign extended according to a local lawyer who has already announced that he is representing at least 14 families in a lawsuit and says he plans to hold the driver and the trucking company accountable.
“Flashing lights, stop sign, it’s daylight. Why wouldn’t you see these buses stopped there letting children onto the bus? We don’t know what happened. But we intend to find out,” said the attorney.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said that they did not believe that alcohol was a factor in the crash, but that speed may have played a part. Another investigator claimed that glare from the sun might have been involved and that charges are pending against the trucker.
By some reports, as many as 300 people stopped to help, some of whom said that from seeing the aftermath of the accident, they can’t believe there weren’t any fatalities.
Source: tallahassee, wtvy, wjhg, wctv, dothaneagle, wfsu
speed ??? bad brakes,possible . Either way the driver is accountable and should be charged as such. The company should be charged for any number of reasons but one comes to mind and that is maintainance .
Why are we quick to jump into conclusion? Thank GOD that there were no fatalities. If the court finds him guilty or the company; then let us bring out the gallow.
Dam FB texting. Too common anymore. If so it should be $10,000.00 & 6 months prison labor gang
Yeah, let’s hang him, before even checking what was the cause. He’s a truck driver so he’s guilty. Just remember you may be next. No major injuriescbut student’s air-lifted to the hospital? Wtf?
Amen
We don”t know what was the reason so we cant assume anything. However I will say that most truckers, not including myself, have the unsafe habit of following way too close behind other vehicles. Trucks need more space to safely stop and especially when you are driving fast. the DOT needs to more aggressively enforce the following distance laws so things will be safer for everyone.
You guys see how FAST the lawyer jumped into the picture? Was it the kids that speed dialed the lawyers or did the lawyer have a scanner in his car and ran to the scene or did some upstanding worried ever so much about their child’s life call the lawyer BEFORE the ambulance even got to the scene???
Either way this country is a joke when it comes to cash the dollar all mighty is a mother no matter how you look at it because the lawyer jumped front and center immediately after this happened.
It’s not worth it to drive a truck IF you value your personal property or your freedom. Really I don’t care if you have new equipment and all the bells and whistles for safety it’s just not worth it and especially since we know how corrupt the government is and how badly they are being pushed to put small carriers out of business.
Think about it and look it up, How is it that large trucking companies can get away with numerous accidents and still be in business yet another smaller carrier is shutdown if they so much as breathe the wrong way?
Walmart has been involved in about 90 some odd accidents and the DOT defended them like they are their own children.
The Corporations and Lawyers own America not the American people.
A little fed up, are we?
And BTW, this country is NOT a joke.
Amen Mind Games.
What do you suggest we do for careers and how are people to goods, equipment, etc? It may not be worth it to you or some others, it’s been wonderful for me and my family. There is no reward without risk, it can never be eliminated only minimized.
There are plenty of bad drivers out there with the good. I was rear-ended by a truck driver last year in a construction zone when he didn’t slow down. Whatever he was paying attention to, it wasn’t driving. He was ticketed, and knew he’d be fired by his company, so while the accident was being cleaned up he was calling around for another job. He had a new one lined up within the hour. I hope he doesn’t kill anybody next time. I wasn’t injured luckily, although my vehicle was destroyed and another person he hit did get injured.
There are all kinds & walks of life behind steering wheels. I’m An O/O, got my CDL in 1963, after 53 years & over 6 million miles of safe driving I have to give God the praise. No one is perfect. Ive seen my share of innocent blood & guts & brains all over the highway and I have to say most are caused by alcohol & drugs. But I believe the cell phone will triple the alcohol now. I do believe all lawyers should be tied across a RR Track.
Mr Carter no praise is high enough for operators like you. I have a friend like you, 75 and still trucking since 1967 in the multi million range and no accidents. I’ve been trucking since 07 and O/O since 08. It’s guys like you that shortened my learning curve and yet I could never do what you’ve done for that long. You and guys like you are rare individuals and I have great respect for what you’ve accomplished. When you finally park that truck I hope you have many wonderful years of blissful living, you’ve earned it and then some.
How many people that are injured or killed by truck drivers are actually the ones at fault? So many people don’t realize that semis CANNOT stop on a dime….they pull out in front of them, they change lanes quickly in front of them like they don’t know this. If that truck is loaded then they could weigh 80,000 lbs. You can’t stop that much weight quickly. Yes, there are bad drivers out there driving semis. But there are MORE bad drivers out there driving cars that don’t CARE. You pull out in front of a semi and he can’t stop…it’s most likely YOUR fault. Educate yourself on how to drive around semis.
So 72 people were injured and taken to a hospital, which 3 or 4 of those were children? So there were 67 or 68 adults riding the school buses? That’s kind of strange
This is a tragedy indeed and an accident is 99% preventable in many cases but we do not know the true circumstances. Thank god there are no fatalities. Truck drivers know that around every corner or blind hill is potential for a bad situation. But this may have been around a blind turn etc and to stop 40 tons at any speed is quite a task. Flashing lights dont help if it cant be seen until your on top of it. But just speculation on my part and drivers are responsible to be prepared for anything at anytime. I hope for the best outcome for the families and truck and bus drivers and of course the kids.
If you’re driving into the YELLOW sun then the glare plus YELLOW buses makes it kind of hard to see. I doubt if there is anyone who hasnt been completely blinded by the sun ,especially in the spring and fall. Some buses drive for a quarter mile or more with the blinking lights still on while they are chatting with a friends kid or the bus monitor . Then they make a quick stop and throw the stop signal out at the last moment. We used to have a bus driver who coulldnt drive on her side of the lines till I started stopping my farm tractor on my side and making her go past. Now she is one of the best bus drivers they have.I guess since the bus drivers around her do not own their own buses anymore, the drivers dont care about themselves or anyone else on the road.I routinely see school bus drivers run stop signs and speed in school zones and else where.
I was cut off by a school bus once in front of a school. I had the green light. I was driving straight. He turned right. Through on his lights. Then drove to the other side of the bus loop. Stopped to let all the other busses out. Happened in Cortland, NY. If it wasn’t a school zone, I may have hit him.
Everyone should keep In mind one thing:
Just because the screwel busses were stopped, had their red lights flashing, and the stop sign out, doesn’t automatically mean the driver is without any fault. I don’t know if these particular drivers are seasoned veteran drivers or newbies. And, I sure as hell don’t know all the details of this particular incident. I’m just pointing this out due to what I’ve seen happen in my area:
Screwel busses crowding the center line; abrupt stops; stopping to pick up students but swing the bus into oncoming traffic at the last minute in order to block both lanes of s two lane road.
Just examples, and reminders that not all drivers are created equal, and that just because some TV station published the story, doesn’t make it 100% true or accurate.
What’s a screwel bus?
Now watch 50 more studies will come out further restricting our ability to drive a truck, until the government wants pure perfection. Won’t be long until you need perfect BMI, perfect background, perfect abilities, and require a 4 year degree in civil engineering.
Cars get into wrecks every day, thousands of people liked in each state each year by car vs car, car vs environment, and even car vs school bus. But you don’t see any limitations on motorists at all. They still fly by everyone 20mph over the speed limit, some drive with substandard maintenance, most are distracted with cellphones and in-dash computers, intoxicated, on drugs, fatigued, or emotional. Overall the decision making of the motoring public is far worse than the occasional truck accident, but just like politics, they only report what will further their agenda.
Been saying this for years.
I thought the new HOS regs were supposed to eliminate the problem tired truckers ha,ha,ha. Why do I feel more tired now that I have an ELOG in my cab, then when i was able to doctor my paper logs?
E-logs are not the problem. The 14 hour clock is the problem and the inability to split our logs the way we need. The driver may have fallen asleep. We don’t know. Though we shouldn’t be quick to judge not knowing the facts. I hope that we get the results of the investigation.