School Bus Accident Elk Grove
School Bus Accident Elk Grove
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove school bus accident attorney. Several special needs students from Elk Grove schools had to be transported to the hospital after a three-vehicle wreck. It’s yet another in a growing trend of California bus crashes and all the more tragic because it involved students with significant disabilities.
In fact, the Sacramento county multi-car wreck could have even been worse. According to CBS Sacramento, the California Highway Patrol revised an earlier statement, clarifying that a driver previously thought dead was instead transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
Video Depicts Tragic Nature of Collision
As you can see in the Youtube video above, the vehicles involved in the bus crash are heavily damaged. The bus is on its side in a field, well beyond the road and having run over a fence. At least one of the vehicles involved in the collision struck a road sign before incurring serious damage as it careened off of a tree. The side of the vehicle is nearly unrecognizable as is the front.
Miracle These Students and Motorists Survived
In spite of the significant forces involved, Elk Grove Unified School District noted that all of the students would likely be okay. “The safety of our students and staff is a top priority,” a statement noted. “California has the highest standards in the nation for school bus construction and driver training to keep our kids safe in the event of an accident.
So Is Bus Safety an Issue or Not?
In terms of fatalities in bus crashes, they are not nearly as common as they are in passenger vehicles. In fact, you are five times as likely to die in a car wreck as in a collision while riding on a bus. However, these include various types of buses, including school buses that do not require occupants to wear a seatbelt.
In some respects, it would seem that the U.S. Department of Transportation and California state legislators think there is still work to be done. The former agency has recently launched a website that helps passenger car drivers learn more about the sight limitations and increased braking distances of larger vehicles.
Perhaps more important is the efforts of the California legislature to improve safety protocols for buses. They include clearly marked emergency exits among other protections. Still, California bus crashes have the potential to cause very serious injuries.
Palm Springs Tour Bus Crash
The latest tragedy to highlight this is a Palms Spring crash that killed 13 and left dozens injured. The driver and operator of the tour bus involved in that bus accident traveled some 15 feet into the back of a tractor trailer although the causes of the incident were unclear.
Litigation followed that driver wherever he went. He was a defendant in at least two civil lawsuits, one of which led to the loss of three lives. In some cases, it is California bus crash attorneys who are left to seek justice for the victims. In the case of the Elk Grove students, it is unclear what they or the occupants of the other vehicles will do once they recover from their injuries in the wreck.
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School Bus Injury Attorneys Elk Grove
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove school bus accident attorney. If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, please call me at (916) 694-0002 or toll-free at (800) 404-5400 for fast, free and friendly advice. I have been helping the Elk Grove community with their personal injury claims for more than 33 years.
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Source of School Bus Accident Elk Grove – http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/10/24/school-bus-with-children-on-board-involved-in-accident-in-elk-grove/
Youtube Video courtesy of CBS Sacramento
:JC