A school trip to Sea World ended in a bus crash north of Lampasas this past Saturday, September 29th.
Details of the Accident
A school bus carrying 24 girls between the ages 10 and 11 was southbound on Highway 281 headed to San Antonio for an exciting trip to Sea World when the bus driver lost control of the vehicle. The crash was subsequently reported around 3:15 p.m.
Lampasas fire, police, and sheriff’s offices responded to the accident. Several of the young students suffered head injuries and were rushed to local hospitals for treatment.
A spokeswoman for Metroplex Hospital in Killeen commented that six victims had been rushed to the emergency room, but thankfully, none of the injuries were life-threatening.
An investigation was conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety at the scene, closing the highway down for several hours. Another bus carrying all boys was taken to Lampasas Middle School.
School Bus Accident Statistics
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a school bus accident is defined as a crash where a vehicle used as a school bus is directly or indirectly involved – regardless of the body type. This definition extends to incidents where children are entering and exiting a bus.
According to the American School Bus Council:
- Approximately 480,000 school buses chauffeur some 25 million children to school every day.
- Every school bus eliminates around 36 cars off of the road.
The NHTSA conducted eye-opening research where they found that:
- Between 2007 and 2016, approximately 1,282 people of all ages died in a school transportation-related accident, averaging to about 128 deaths per year.
- Between 2007 and 2016, 281 school-aged children perished in a school transportation-related accident:
- 58 were occupants of a school transportation vehicle like a school bus.
- 116 were occupants of a passenger vehicle.
- 98 were pedestrians.
- 8 were pedal cyclists.
- 1 was a non-occupant.
- 45 percent of fatal school transportation-related accidents involved impacts to the front-end of the school bus.
While these statistics are tragic, the truth is that school bus accidents are quite rare, signaling that school bus travel is the safest form of transportation for children, according to the NHTSA.
Have you, your child, or a loved been involved in a school bus accident? Reach out to the J. Gonzalez Injury Attorneys today.
As parents, we trust the safety of our children to other adults throughout the school year. But sometimes accidents may happen.
Trust in the experienced personal injury attorneys at J. Gonzalez Injury Attorneys to fight for the compensation you and your children need to recuperate.
Source: ValleyCentral
