KIRBYVILLE, TX — Seven people were taken to the hospital after a major accident involving a school bus and a tractor-trailer in Kirbyville, Texas on Wednesday, November 5th, 2014. The news article from KJAS said that the accident happened at about 7:30 Wednesday morning.
Seven kids were taken to the hospital, two with injuries that were deemed serious after a school bus accident that happened on Highway 96. The accident happened when the tractor-trailer struck the rear of a school bus just outside Kirbyville.
Seven kids were taken to the hospital, and two were reported to have serious injuries.
It is not clear from the news if the driver of the truck was hurt in the accident or not.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the accident.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
Just glancing at the facts, and photos from the accident scene, I’m stunned that nobody was hurt worse, and that the accident even happened in the first place. Very rarely do I see a good reason for a rear-end collision, and this situation is no exception. First of all, the school bus is bright yellow, and it had stopped to pick up children, which means that the lights and stop signs on the bus would have been flashing. What does this mean? Well, I’d be willing to bet that the driver of the truck wasn’t focused on the road. If he had been, this yellow bus with flashing lights and stop signs would have been impossible to miss. These vehicles don’t exactly blend in.
I’d be having a hard look at how long the trucker had been on the road on the off chance he nodded off behind the wheel. I’d also have a peek into all of the electronic devices in the truck with him to see if he was distracted behind the wheel. Ultimately, this trucking company is going to be facing some very hard questions, as they should, but with any kind of mass-casualty event, acting quickly is in the best interests of victims. These situations usually come down to a first-come-first-serve when it comes to the insurance claims, and once the policy limits are expired, getting compensation becomes very, very difficult. On top of these difficulties, the trucking company is going to do all it can to avoid taking responsibility, and they have a great deal of experience doing so. Moving quickly won’t give them as much time to formulate a strategy and shake off as much fault as they’re going to try to do.
— Grossman Law Offices
