Every day, millions of children board school buses to head off to school. Parents trust the drivers to exercise the utmost caution with their loved ones and expect them to return home safely every afternoon. More often than not that is the case. But even one aberration is one too many, especially when it involves the lives of children.
Bus accidents are certainly less common than crashes involving smaller vehicles, but when they do happen, their sheer size and power usually spell disaster for the victims. Sadly that aberration happened in Shreveport in May. A 59-year-old school bus driver from the Louisiana town tragically struck and killed a 6-year-old boy. It was around 4 p.m. and the driver was dropping children off. According to the driver, the boy had walked out of the line of sight and was hit when the driver made a turn.
Authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the incident using surveillance video, presumably from the scene and on the bus. The driver was taken to a hospital and given a toxicology test. There is no word on whether charges will be pressed.
In cases like these, investigators will typically look at several factors. Was the driver intoxicated or distracted? Was the bus properly equipped with all the requisite safety equipment and was all of it working properly? Did the driver operate this equipment as required? Was the driver negligent or not paying enough attention to the road?
Even if no criminal charges are filed, civil cases can sometimes yield results. A Louisiana attorney may be able to conduct his or her own investigation of the accident and determine if any negligence occurred, either on the part of the driver or, in some cases, the company.
Source: watchfox29.com, “Bus Accident Claims Life,” May 19, 2014
