On Saturday, April 4th, 2009, yet another bus crash injured dozens and took the life of an innocent passenger near the Sacramento area. All told, counting the bus driver, two dozen people had to be rushed to various local hospitals. Most of the injured had boarded the bus in Reno to get to their jobs at the Resort at Squaw Creek, a Lake Tahoe skiing venue, where many worked as housekeepers, bookkeepers, cooks and dishwashers. The one worker who died, was thrown from the bus and trapped underneath it once it stopped rolling. This 1995 Euro bus was not equipped with seatbelts since they aren’t currently required in this type of vehicle.

Witnesses said that while trying to make a turn on westbound Interstate 80, the driver allegedly failed to brake or even truly turn the wheel. The bus hit a guardrail, rolled down an embankment and then rolled over three or four times. Thorough questioning of the driver had to be delayed since he was hospitalized with his own serious head trauma. http://www.sacbee.com/ Many questions remain since the 66-year-old driver supposedly only had minor offenses listed on his driving record.

At the time of the 8:30 a.m. crash, good weather prevailed. After the bus broke through the guardrail and rolled down the embankment, a Caltrans spokesperson said the bus rolled over several times before landing upright in a ditch. Many of the victims suffered head injuries, broken bones, and cuts and scrapes.

This recent crash is sure to remind many of the one that occurred late last year, during the early evening hours of Monday, October 5, 2008. That accident involved a bus traveling from Sacramento to the Colusa Casino Resort. After seven passengers lost their lives at the scene, three more died at area hospitals that same night. http://www.sfgate.com/ Approximately 38 passengers were taken from the accident scene, located about 60 miles north of Sacramento, to local and regional hospitals. All were jostled rather violently as the bus rolled completely over before landing upright in a ditch.

Rescue workers struggled to identify and help those who were injured in this 2008 incident since so many of them only spoke Lao. It appears that no other vehicles were involved in that accident. Sadly, some wonder whether this 2008 incident was tied to alcohol or substance abuse. The driver had been cited for past speeding violations and had even had his driver’s license suspended for two recent years. Supposedly, the driver had only regained his license less than 12 months prior to this October 2008 accident.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
Since we continue to meet more and more bus and auto crash accident victims in our law offices, we want to remind everyone to learn all they can, ahead of time, about (1) the maintenance records of any bus they’re planning to ride on and (2) those who may be driving them in a bus to a future destination.