Olin, NC — Last weekend, there was a serious accident at the North Iredell High School campus in Olin that left over 20 students and adults injured. Police said that a rental Ryder box truck accidentally backed into a large awning at the high school, causing it to fall over and hit a group of people.
This happened on Saturday, October 3, 2015. There
Initially, 22 students were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment, but a few days later, the principal at the school said that only 5 students remained hospitalized.
It appears that there was a band competition going on at the school that day and the Ryder box truck was being driven by a parent. The driver, later identified as Douglas Southers, 64, was apparently trying to back up to the school property when he accidentally crashed into a concrete covered awning, causing it to collapse and fall.
So far, it doesn’t look like any of the injuries were life-threatening.
Map of the High School
Commentary:
The news reports made this accident sound like it was caused by a crazed, irresponsible truck driver, but from what I understand, he was just a parent volunteering at the school. Ryder is a company known for their truck rental services, which is important to remember in situations like this. Essentially, when you rent a vehicle from a company like Ryder (or U-Haul, Penske, etc), they use your insurance that you carry for your personal vehicle as the insurance for their truck. It’s a way to make sure everything is complaint with state laws on minimum insurance requirements, but it keeps the truck rental company out of hot water if someone gets hurt in an accident.
If extra insurance was purchased, then that’s obviously a different story.
