Deadly Irving crash highlights risks of bus travel and other mass transit

April 13, 2013

A recent single-vehicle bus accident on the President George Bush highway in Irving, Texas, has already claimed the lives of two bus passengers and left nearly 20 more fighting to survive in area hospitals. Witnesses say that the bus was heading down the roadway as usual when it began to weave, veered sharply off course, struck a roadway crash barrel (a form of accident "cushioning" put in place by the Texas Department of Transportation to help deflect the forces acting in traffic accidents), slid into the grass median and came to rest on its side.

Since the accident investigation has just begun, no cause for the wreck - even a preliminary one - has been determined. The bus was operated by a Texas-based charter bus company with a good record and no injury-causing accidents in the past two years.

A unique problem

The bus accident has already renewed the debate about large bus travel, in particular whether or not seat belts are included on buses and whether passengers are properly using them. Recent high-profile school bus accidents around the country have stirred the same contentions, with supporters on both sides making impassioned arguments about why seat belts should (keep passengers seated while the bus is in operation, decrease the chance for injury caused by striking the seat in front, decrease the chance that passengers will collide with other passengers during a crash) or should not (riders - particularly children and other vulnerable passengers - would not be able to undo the belt quickly enough to escape if a fast exit is needed, airbags would be better than seat belts because they would offer more protection) be mandatory.

The injuries

Little information is yet available about the types of injuries seen in the Irving crash, but past bus wrecks and eyewitness accounts of the accident can provide clues. Since the bus impacted a concrete barrier before sliding into the median, it is likely that the driver and people in the first few rows took the brunt of that force acting on the bus, and could likely have suffered crush injuries, broken bones, head injuries and spine injuries due to being thrown forward in their seats and having the front of the bus shift backward into the passenger compartment.

Witnesses at the scene recalled that many of the injured passengers were either trapped under the bus when it landed on its side or pinned beneath other passengers. Those riders would likely be subject to crush injuries like broken ribs, lung damage, other broken bones and possible internal injuries.

Moving on

It is too soon to tell how this accident will progress, since the majority of the passengers were injured and need to focus on their recovery. It is not even clear what the cause is yet, but it may turn out that the injured will need to pursue legal action to get medical expenses paid. If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus, train or other mass transit accident, seek medical care immediately. Once your body has begun to recover, though, consider consulting an experienced personal injury attorney in your area to learn more about your legal rights and options.

Article provided by Colley & Colley, L.L.P.
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