The readers of our New Orleans motor vehicle accidents law blog don’t have to know the individuals involved in an accident that occurred Thursday, April 10, for their hearts to go out to victims and their families. News sources reported that late in the afternoon, a large FedEx company truck crossed through the median on a freeway in California, striking a school bus filled with students.
The school bus was on its way to drop the students off at a college where they could explore the endless possibilities of their future. Instead, the lives of eight students were cut short and several others were changed forever by serious injuries. These injuries not only involve physical scars and impediments, but victims these cases are often traumatized and left with very real emotional scars as well.
California Highway Patrol officers that arrived at this particular scene detailed the horrific circumstances in an accident report. The initial investigation showed that the driver of the commercial truck had crossed through the grass median separating the opposing lanes of the freeway. The truck collided head-on with the school bus, causing both vehicles to burst into flames.
It is unclear exactly what caused the driver to lose control, but officers did note the possibility that the driver had first attempted to avoid a separate collision with a passenger car, causing him to swerve.
There was somewhere around 44 to 48 students on the bus at the time of the collision. Many of these students, the chaperones and the driver were able to make it out of the vehicle by any means possible, including forcing open windows. Several of those that escaped with their lives still suffered catastrophic injuries, including severe burns.
Parents in a situation such as this one may not know where to start in the personal injury or wrongful death process. What they do know is that someone has to be held accountable, and for those parents in Louisiana, a New Orleans personal injury attorney can take this burden off of their shoulders.
Source: WWLTV, “Truck in deadly crash slammed into charter bus,” April 11, 2014
