DeLand, FL — An accident between a school bus, an 18-wheeler, and a Toyota injured at least three people today in DeLand, Florida. The accident occurred near the intersection of West New York Avenue and Paradise Drive.
The school bus had stopped to unload students and the Toyota had stopped for it. The driver of the 18-wheeler claimed that he didn’t have time to come to a complete stop and ran into the Toyota, pushing it into the bus’ path. The bus was carrying fourteen elementary school students at the time.
The driver of the Toyota was injured in the accident and taken to Halifax Medical Center. The driver’s name has not been released.
Even though authorities originally reported no injuries aboard the school bus, two students were later reported injured, and they were taken to a local hospital.
Jorge Ruizm, the driver of the 18-wheeler, suffered minor injuries. The Florida Highway Patrol says that they may press charges.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
It’s always possible that the authorities will find something that’s been overlooked that could change the way everyone’s looking at this accident, so everything I say right now is just speculation. But from the looks of it, the driver of the 18-wheeler was clearly at fault here. He said that he wasn’t able to come to a complete stop in behind the Toyota, which probably means that he was following too closely, not giving himself the required time he needed to stop the truck.
Even though this accident seems to be fairly cut and dry, I can guarantee that, behind the scenes, it’s anything but. Commercial trucks are capable of causing a lot of damage, so they’re required to carry much more insurance than your typical motorist. Because, in an accident like this, they’ve got so much on the line, they work as hard as they can to prove that the other drivers carry just as much, if not more, of the blame than they do. It doesn’t matter if they were actually at fault or not. They’re going to do whatever is going to make the least bit of difference to their bottom line. That’s something victims need to be aware of. They can’t rely on the trucking company to have their best interests at heart.
— Grossman Law Offices
