Van Buren, OH — A 16-year-old girl was injured when the driver of a school bus failed to yield to her vehicle, causing an accident, in Van Buren, Ohio, on Friday, April 17, 2015. The accident took place at the intersection of Hogpath and Gordon-Landis roads, around 2:45 in the afternoon.
Police have identified the bus driver as 67-year-old Paul Peters. Reports say that Peters was traveling along Gordon-Landis road. He stopped at the stop sign posted at the intersection, but failed to wait for a Nissan Ultima traveling along Hogpath to pass.
Peters came into the intersection, and the Ultima hit it on its right side. Peters was cited by police for failing to yield. The 16-year-old driver — who has not been identified — was taken to Wayne HealthCare. A male passenger inside her vehicle was not injured.
Twelve children were inside the school bus at the time of the accident. None of them were injured. Reports say that Peters was taken to a local hospital.
The accident is still being investigated.
Scene of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary
Whenever I see an accident like this, I have to wonder if this is the first mistake like this the bus driver has made, or is this just the first time it’s caused an accident. Bus drivers are held to a much higher standard because they’re transporting our kids, and can cause a lot of damage with just a single mistake. So whenever any accident like this happens, the driver needs to be looked at very carefully, and whether or not he should even be driving a bus needs to be called into question.
School buses belong to school districts, which in turn belong to the state. Some states allow people to bring claims against municipal entities like school districts. However, a state’s specific laws governing this differ. In Texas, the Texas Tort Claims Act allows one to bring suit against the government, but sets a very strict timeline in which paperwork needs to be filed, and also sets limits to the amount one can be compensated for an accident in which the government bears some liability. Again, the laws in another state will be different, so those involved in these types of accidents need to make sure they’re educating themselves on what they say.
— Grossman Law Offices
