New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Passengers are questioning a bus driver's statement that he was well-rested and alert the morning his tour bus crashed into a pole in New York, killing 15 people on board.
The expert reports that in a lawsuit, a passenger claims the driver fell asleep while driving when the bus wrecked on March 12 while coming home from the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

The passenger was sitting in the back and saw the bus veer onto the rumble strip three times in a 20-minute period before the crash on Interstate 95 according to his lawyer. He said his client did not see a tractor-trailer careen toward the bus, as the driver claims.

The bus turned over on its side, and its roof was ripped off by a sign stanchion. The passenger in question says he had injuries to his shoulder and spine but was able to climb out through the damaged roof.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a Brooklyn court and is the second court case of its kind.
"He doesn't drink, he doesn't even smoke. He takes his job very seriously and he was alert, and is a great driver,” it was said about the driver. The driver was tested for drugs and alcohol and both came out negative.

State police said soon after the crash that according to witness reports the driver was speeding. The bus driver has a criminal history but has tried to put everything behind him and wanted nothing more than to just be a good driver. This accident and it’s victims are intent on hindering that.

He redeemed himself for his mistakes made years ago," his lawyer said. "His life was straight. He was doing well until this horrible accident."

Suffolk County in New York State has stepped up the care of tour buses since the crash. Dozens of buses have been removed after police found issues with logbooks, licenses or equipment. Investigations are still pending in this case. They will determine the extent of the personal injury.

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An accident in Baiting Hollow ended in the death of one and injured eight others. It occurred on Sound Avenue when a tractor-trailer collided with a school bus for special-needs children. So far, it seems that the fatality and most, if not all, of those injured, were adults.
According to a police chief in the area, the bus was the property of Maryhaven Center of Hope in Poor Jefferson. The tractor trailer was carrying a load of sand. According to New York Injury Lawyers, the street is both hilly and curved, which made it easy for the bus and tractor trailer to lose control when they sideswiped each other.
A dispatcher for the Maryhaven Center of Hope told New York Injury Lawyers they are a program for children with special needs. At the time for the accident, there were six students and two staff members on the bus.
According to a spokeswoman for Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead the one fatality was an adult.
There were a total of five victims, including the one that died, taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, the spokeswoman told New York City Injury Lawyers. The ages and condition of the remaining injured passengers is unknown at this time.
A Riverhead police lieutenant indicated that the person who died was on the school bus.
The other injured persons were taken to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. A spokeswoman for the facility said there were four victims brought there, all of them adults. She also stated none of them were in danger of dying of their injuries and the patients would likely be released very soon. These accidents are common on the Long Island Expressway in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
One victim was sufficiently injured as to be taken to a medical facility by a Suffolk police helicopter.
Riverhead Police closed the road after the crash.
A nursery worker who knows the area said that speeding was very common on that rural road where the accident occurred.
“You have to take your time and go slow,” she said.

Continue reading "Bus Accident Kills 1, Injures 8 in Port Jefferson" »