A school bus transporting children to an elementary school was recently involved in a three-car crash along Spackenkill Road in Red Oaks Mill. The school bus was traveling westbound on Spackenkill road when an eastbound car waiting to turn left across Spackenkill Road was rear-ended, pushing that car over the double-yellow line into the school bus. The bus driver, whose name was not released, then lost control of the bus, and the bus overturned, landing on its driver side. All nine children, the driver of the bus, and the driver of the rear-ended car that collided with the bus were taken to MidHudson Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police continue to investigate the incident and are looking for witnesses to the accident.
School bus crashes are relatively rare, accounting for only .35% of all motor vehicle fatalities occurring between 2003 and 2012 (the last year that official federal data is available). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are an average of 135 school-transportation-related fatalities each year. Only 8% of those fatalities were occupants of school transportation, with the remaining 92% of those being pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles involved in the crash. However, when such accidents do occur, they can be devastating. When children are injured in school bus accidents, their parents are often obligated to miss work to care for them. Aside from medical expenses and lost wages, young and impressionable children can also suffer from trauma related to the accident and ensuing emotional distress. Many school buses now have video cameras installed, enabling more thorough investigations into the causes of a crash, and allowing a skilled personal injury and bus accident attorney to analyze that footage to deduce whether the driver somehow fell short in carrying out his or her duty of care when the crash occurred.
If you or a loved one have been injured either while riding as a passenger on a bus, or when riding in a vehicle that was in an accident with a bus, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and medical bills. The knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at Basch & Keegan can help you determine if you have a claim. For assistance with your bus accident claim occurring in Kingston, Ulster, or throughout Dutchess County, call (845) 251-4545.