According to the Des Moines Register:

“Des Moines bus officials will issue a temporary order to drivers this afternoon to eliminate left turns on the west side of downtown and to honk their horns when making turns anywhere in the downtown area.

Melissa Dunagan, 61, was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center shortly before 7 a.m. Hospital officials said she will be released today.

It is the seventh bus-pedestrian accident in downtown Des Moines since the summer of 2007. Officials put in place a variety of safety measures but accidents continue to occur.

Police said Dunagan was walking east on High Street, crossing 9th Street. The driver of the DART bus, Leonidas Flores, 56, was turning left at the time. He was westbound on High Street, turning south onto 9th Street, when the accident occurred. Police said Flores told them he didn’t see her.

The accident occurred at 6:38 a.m..

Flores has been charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.”

While the new driving approach could lead to fewer accidents, it seems quite illogical for a vehicle to completely avoid turning left.  Regardless of whether these changes work, if you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, contact the attorneys at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel:

“The rear-end crash happened about 2:40 p.m. when one southbound bus stopped to merge as the World Drive narrowed from three to two lanes, said Sgt. Kim Miller, an FHP spokeswoman. The second bus, which was traveling slowly, did not stop in time.

About 50 people were on both buses. A dozen were taken to area hospitals. Miller described their injuries as minor. Neither bus driver was hurt.

The buses were ferrying guests from the Magic Kingdom to the Caribbean Beach and All-Star resorts, Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.

Finger, said the company is conducting its own investigation and working with law enforcement to ensure the “well-being of those involved.” Disney sent representatives to the hospitals where passengers were being examined, she said.”

While situations such as auto accidents are difficult to handle, the difference between them and these sorts of occurrences is that the passengers in trains and buses have no control over what happens.  If you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, you need to contact the bus accident lawyers at the Phillips National Injury Group as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation.

According to the Des Moines Register:

“A transit official said Friday that Robert Delpierre’s background would have eliminated him from consideration under hiring rules that were tightened after he joined the 165-driver staff.

Officials said they were fully aware, for example, that he was released from prison on methamphetamine charges in 2006.

Delpierre, who was ticketed for Thursday’s accident that left a 54-year-old woman with serious leg injuries, had only one blemish on his driving record since he was hired in 2007, a bus official said.

He passed a drug test after Thursday’s accident. All employees are subject to random drug tests.

Miller said job applicants can have no substance abuse violations within five years, or moving traffic violations within three years, of being hired.

Under federal guidelines, drivers, still get a second chance if they fail a drug test, Miller said, but bus commissioners will discuss a “no-tolerance policy.”Delpierre, 52, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Delpierre was convicted in the 1990s of methamphetamine possession, first-degree theft and various other crimes in other counties. He served 15 months of a five-year prison term.”

Regardless of whether the driver met the hiring standards at the time, this could constitute a serious problem for the bus company given the driver’s past and what occurred last week.  If you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, contact the attorneys at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Now comes word that several federal lawsuits filed against Greyhound will continue after a federal judge refused to dismiss them based on the absence of a clear federal seat belt regulation.  According to the Sun-Herald:

“The passengers, who were severely injured, claimed that their injuries could have been prevented had Greyhound equipped its buses with seat belts.

Greyhound asked the judge to dismiss the cases, contending that federal law pre-empted the passengers’ state law claims.

Greyhound’s lawyers said that since the federal government does not require seat belts on buses that any state court action based on the failure to install seat belts was pre-empted by the federal government’s inaction.

England rejected Greyhound’s argument and said the suits should go to a jury.

The judge found that “the absence of federal seat belt requirements for passengers is more descriptive of a minimum protection mandated by federal law, rather than a clear indication that such passive restraints should not be required.”

The issue basically turned on a jurisdictional technicality, but the result is clear - bus lines can be sued based on the absence of seat belts and the injuries that result from that lack of protection.  If you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, contact the attorneys at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Unfortunately, a high amount of road construction when mixed with heavy traffic is no laughing matter.  Some areas have reported a huge increase in accidents on their roads, most of which are occurring in construction zones.  Officials have offered many reasons for this spike.  According to an article published on KUTV.com in Salt Lake City:

“No matter where you go in Utah this summer, you’re bound to run into a construction zone. “It’s one of the busiest years UDOT has ever experienced,” said Adan Carrillo with the Utah Department of Transportation.

In fact right now, UDOT is working 280 projects across the state. And with all the construction, comes accidents.

This weekend, emergency crews responded to as many as seven crashes across the valley in construction zones, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

One of them in North Salt Lake at I-215 and Beck Street turned deadly when the driver of a tow truck shot across the barriers, and into oncoming traffi,c killing the driver of an SUV.

Troopers say it was all because the driver of the tow truck got distracted.

They say distracted drivers in construction zones are a big part of the cause of accidents.”

Clearly, the ‘common’ mistakes that drivers make on the open road are much more likely to lead to tragic results in these construction zones.  If you or someone you love has been injured in an auto accident, you need to contact the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

According to the Arizona Republic:

“The crash was the 22nd of the year and a setback for Metro’s improving safety record. After averaging nearly five crashes a month, Metro’s last crash was May 15; two collisions involving trains occurred in May.

The Route 8 bus made a right turn across the path of the tracks to continue its run down Washington Street when it collided with a two-car train carrying about 30 people.

Metro reported moderate damage to the front left of the train and the rear of the bus.”

It should be noted that Metro’s train has not been found at fault in any of the 21 crashes so far this year, but investigators stated that it would take at least 10 days to complete the investigation surrounding this incident.  Clearly and regardless of fault, the presence of the train in the downtown area is proving to be a rocky adjustment for those who traverse the area regularly.

Bus and train accidents can occur at any time, and if you or someone you love has been injured in such an incident, you need to contact the accident attorneys at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

According to WBNS:

“Authorities had not released information about the cause of the crash as of early Friday, but witnesses said the eastbound van was trying to pass another vehicle when it went left of center, striking the westbound bus.

The intersection is well known to authorities as a dangerous location.

“This is the fourth fatal in about two months,” said David Zimmerman, chief of the Johnson-St. Paris fire department. “We have numerous accidents here in the year.”

Even students who were not injured in the crash were shaken by the incident.”

When looking at school bus accidents from a strictly statistical point of view, they are quite rare in number.  This may be a comforting thought for some, but for others, it’s anything but, as they are trusting their children with companies and drivers who are total strangers.  Bus accidents always create difficult questions in terms of liability as well, as everyone from the driver to the bus company to the school district to others involved in an accident could all be involved.

If your child has been injured or worse in a bus accident, don’t attempt to answer these complicated questions yourself.  Contact the bus accident lawyers at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

It seems that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is starting to get the hint from the public’s outrage in response to these incidents, according to an article published by the Detroit News:

“U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made bus safety a top issue as well, and he will be meeting with NTSB later this week on the issue, said Kathleen Higgins, an NTSB member.

Congress is considering reauthorization of the four-year surface transportation bill — a law that typically includes major auto safety requirements.

In 2006, more than 630 million people took trips on motor coaches — almost as many as traveled by airplane.

Higgins noted that 17 people die, on average, in commercial buses every year, making it one of the safest methods of travel on the road.

But a number of notable accidents — including the deaths of seven people in 2007 on a bus carrying the Bluffton (Ohio) University baseball team — have led to proposals in Congress to mandate safety belts on buses to keep people in their seats during rollovers and other serious accidents.

Since 1998, the NTSB has investigated 33 motor coach accidents involving the ejection of 255 passengers, and it has called on NHTSA to improve protections for commercial buses since 1999.”

While seat belts will clearly not lower the number of accidents that occur, they will almost certainly save lives and prevent serious injuries.  If you or someone you love has been injured in a bus accident, contact the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

According to a report filed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

“Deputy prosecutor Chris Morledge of Forrest City said that although Tapia was under the influence of amphetamines during the Nov. 25, 2007, crash, Morledge could not prove that the drugs impaired Tapia’s driving abilities.

Had the drugs impaired Tapia’s driving, it could have been key evidence in sustaining a felony conviction, Morledge said.

Tapia pleaded guilty to the one count of manslaughter, a Class A misdemeanor, for the death of Danny Okurily, 30. Morledge said prosecutors dropped the other three charges in the deaths of the bus passengers because they could not locate witnesses or family members to attend the hearing.”

“This [sentence] is a slap to my son’s memory,” said Diana Okurily of Hot Springs, the mother of Danny Okurily, 30, who was killed when his truck was hit by the bus.

Diana Okurily; her husband, Peter; and other family members and friends attended Thursday’s brief hearing.

“I’m in disbelief,” she said, wiping tears away after the hearing.”

Tapia had a history of speeding tickets and employment issues in a driving capacity.  In a legal sense, this tragedy raises an important issue, that being whether Tapia and/or the company for which he drove would be liable in a civil proceeding for wrongful death.

If you or someone you love has been injured or worse in such a situation, contact the bus accident lawyers at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.

The bus driver tried to avoid a slow moving vehicle that was entering the highway. The driver then veered to the left and ended up clipping the front of a semi trailer. This adjustment caused the bus to flip onto its side and then skid down the road a bit until it came to a stop on the side of the road. While on its side, another vehicle then crashed into the stopped truck.

The bus was carrying both adults and children. 14 of the passengers in the bus were injured. All of the injuries were not life-threatening. However, there were four adults and two children that were sent to the hospital in serious condition.

Police do not believe that alcohol was a factor in the accident. They are looking into what caused the accident and may press charges against the bus driver. It is not clear if anyone on the bus was wearing seatbelts or not.
Police feel that the accident had a better outcome then could be expected since the highway speed limit is 70 mph but the truck may have been traveling slower than that.