Pickup Truck Crashes into School Bus in New Jersey Bus Accident
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that two adults were recently severely injured when the pickup truck they were riding in collided head-on into a school bus in Gloucester City, NJ on February 18. Several students suffered minor injuries in the bus crash. According to the article, the accident was caused when the truck crossed into opposing traffic and crashed into the bus.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there were 33,808 fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2009. A total of 10,287 involved light trucks and 2,260 of those truck accidents involved alcohol. There were 759,000 people injured in light truck accidents.
The article did not say if the truck passengers in this particular accident were wearing seat belts. The NHTSA says that seat belts can decrease the number of front-seat occupant traffic deaths by 50% for traffic deaths involving occupants of SUV’s, pickup trucks, and minivans.
In Pennsylvania in 2009, the Department of Transportation reports that 45 percent of all fatal crashes involved light trucks, SUVs, or vans. There were 77 fatal crashes that year involving a light truck and a school bus. Fortunately there were only about 4 fatal school bus crashes that year; however, there were 233 school bus crashes in which passengers were injured. Some common causes of vehicle accidents are changing lanes or unsafe passing, driving while fatigued, drunk driving, driving a defective or an improperly maintained truck, poor weather conditions, speeding, tailgating, unsecured loads, and cell phone use.
If you have recently been in an accident that involved a negligent driver, you would be well-advised to contact the Pennsylvania accident lawyers at Cherry Fieger & Marciano, LLP. Our attorneys have the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully represent you. We offer free consultations.
