School Bus Rear-Ended in Sullivan County
According to the National Safety Council, riding a school bus is the safest way for children to be transported to school, safer than walking or even being driven by their parents. However, this doesn’t mean that taking the school bus is completely safe. Instead, these buses get into a large number of accidents each year, and children are often injured.
From Sullivan County comes reports of an accident that happened in late February 2020 involving a mini school bus that was struck in the rear by a pickup truck. The mini school bus was thrown into the guardrail, which caused it to flip onto its side. Route 17 had to be closed following the accident and remained closed for most of the morning.
According to NBC New York, the accident injured five students and two adults. The children and adults were taken to the hospital but released a short while later with only minor injuries. Fortunately, no one suffered a more substantial injury in the rollover.
The truck driver who set events in motion was unscathed. However, he was cited for traveling too closely, which is undoubtedly the cause of the accident. There is no word yet on whether he will face other criminal charges.
Are Your Children in Danger on a School Bus?
The accident in Sullivan County was somewhat rare, in that a motor vehicle caused serious damage to a school bus. This accident unfolded the way it did probably because it was a minibus involved in the crash, instead of a full-sized bush, which is much harder to push into a guardrail or off the road.
Children are at the highest risk of injury when they are getting on or off the bus. According to the National Safety Council, about 2/3 of all injuries a child suffers will be sustained outside the bus. For example, a child could pass directly in front of the bus and be run over if the driver is not paying attention. Other accidents involve children running out in front of the bus as it is coming to a stop or crawling under the bus to retrieve something that they have dropped.
Given their size, school buses can absorb quite a bit of force in a collision. Still, children can suffer traumatic injuries in a bus crash. Because they are not wearing seat belts, they could be tossed about inside the bus and suffer fractures, concussions, lacerations, soft-tissue damage, and spinal cord damage.
Other accidents stem from defects on a bus, which could cause a child to slip and fall.
Even Minor Injuries Could Be Serious
We are happy that the five children and two adults did not suffer life-threatening injuries. However, it is important after a bus accident to keep a close eye on how you are feeling. Some injuries are slow to manifest. For example, any damage to your back might slowly degenerate over the course of a couple of weeks. Although you might have felt fine, you could quickly develop debilitating pain.
Contact an NYC Bus Accident Lawyer
Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman has represented many people injured in motor vehicle accidents, including bus accidents. For more information about how we can help, call us today at 212-285-3300 or fill out our contact form.
