School Bus Accident in Kissimmee Caused by Bus Driver Careless Driving
A school bus driver in Osceola County could not stop in time and rear-ended three cars stopped ahead of her, causing minor injuries and a scare for the two students onboard the bus at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 9. It happened on Boggy Creek Road at Bill Beck Boulevard where the first car tried to complete a turn but stopped and failed to fully exit the lane of traffic. The Orlando Sentinel reports that caused a Chrysler van behind the car to stop, then a four-door Acura. But instead of responding to road conditions, the school bus rear-ended the Acura which hit the van.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the Acura driver was trapped in her vehicle until she was rescued by first responders. She was taken to Osceola Regional Hospital but fortunately suffered only minor injuries. Meanwhile, the van’s driver was not hurt and two students aboard the bus were not injured. No one would have been injured if the bus driver had stopped as road conditions dictated. She received a citation for careless driving. Fortunately there were not more serious injuries involved in this multi-vehicle bus crash in Florida.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports school buses are some of the safest vehicles on the road. On average U.S. school buses carry more than 23 million children every day and an average of 7 passengers are killed every year. Florida statistics show that between 1998 and 2002, six children died in accidents involving school buses, with two killed inside the bus and four who died loading or unloading the bus. Often the crash is blamed on the driver of the other vehicle.
The bus accident lawyers in Jacksonville at Farah & Farah remind us to never ride too close to a school bus and remain stopped until the bus lowers its stop sign. After that, remain on the lookout for all kids around the school bus who may dart in front of traffic. And pay attention to school crossing areas and crossing guards. Drivers are required to stop at marked stop lines to avoid hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist leaving from or coming to school.
Sources: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/os-school-bus-crash-boggy-creek-20110609,0,7297468.story and http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/SchoolBusSafety.pdf
