Odessa, TX — Earlier this week (Tuesday, October 27, 2015), an EZ-Rider bus was involved in an accident along the JBS Parkway that sent 6 people to the hospital, including 1 person on the bus.
The accident was reported on Tuesday, right in front of the UTPB (University of Texas at Permian Basin) campus.
According to the local law enforcement reports, the EZ-Rider bus was trying to make a left turn into the campus’s entrance when it failed to yield to a van and a car headed in the opposite direction. The bus turned in front of them, causing a major collision.
At total of 6 people were injured: 4 people in the van, 1 person in the car, and 1 person on the bus.
None of the injuries were believed to be serious, but of the injured passengers in the van, one was a 1-year old child. The EZ-Rider bus driver has apparently been cited for the accident, the police said.
Map of the Accident
View of the Road
Commentary:
I’m not quite sure what to think, because if I’m not mistaken, the EZ-Rider system is a locally operated bus shuttle service that essentially provides public transportation for the Odessa area. Aren’t those drivers supposed to be top-of-the-line, safe, and reliable? I’m not trying to insult this bus driver, but failing to yield on a left turn is a very amateurish mistake and one that could have cost people their lives.
A lot of the cases our firm handles come out of the Permian Basin area, and most of them involve the oilfield industry in some way. However, this is a little different. Now, legally speaking, if this company is owned by the City of Odessa, then they may still be liable for the victims’ injuries the same way you and I would be liable if we caused an accident, but thanks to the Texas Tort Claims Act, there are limitations on suits filed against governmental entities.
The bottom line here is that I don’t know all the specifics about how this would work because I simply don’t have all the information in front of me. But generally speaking, deadlines for filing claims against city busses are much tighter and the state caps the amount of money that can be recovered for things like injuries, lost wages, medical bills, etc.
I would be interested to find out more about this situation, because it seems to me that the EZ-Rider folks ought to do the right thing here and take responsibility for their driver.
— Grossman Law Offices
