Frankfort, KY — Fifteen people were hospitalized in an accident between a limo bus and an SUV in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Monday, July 27, 2015. The accident happened on Interstate 64.
Local reports are saying that a group of 32 people — 26 kids and six adults — were headed to a church retreat in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All 33 were members of a church youth group. They had been on the road for only a few hours when the Lafayette Limo they were riding in rear-ended an SUV. Some reports say that the SUV had slowed down for traffic that backed up because of a previous accident.
Reports differ on how many people were injured and had to be sent to the hospital for treatment. One report says 15, another says 12. Among those were 43-year-old Sabrina Spellman, the driver of the SUV, and 55-year-old Perry Williams, the driver of the limo bus. There was one child and at least seven kids from the bus who were also taken. Reports say that all of their injuries were minor.
In light of the accident, Hamilton Hills Baptist Church, who runs the youth group, decided it would be best to send all the kids home with their families.
Right now, what caused the accident isn’t clear. Police are investigating.
Scene of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary
Anyone who’s charged with driving a bus is going to be held to a pretty high standard, because they’re capable of causing so much damage with just a single mistake. Whenever I read that traffic was backing up on the highway, and the vehicle in question rear-ended another that was slowing down, I start thinking that the driver just wasn’t paying attention to the road. This is disturbing for many reasons, not the least of which is that watching the road is one of the most basic things drivers have asked of them. And now we have to start asking questions about the driver’s record, what kind of training he’s had, and what his company’s attitude toward safety standards is. Not to mention the kids who were hurt in this accident as a direct result of the driver’s actions. However, in the end, this can be seen as a positive. If changes need to be made to make this a safer company, or to help the driver become better at his job, those changes can be made. In the end, the point is to help prevent accidents like this from happening in the future.
— Grossman Law Offices
