Collision between bus and pickup blamed on negligence

On the first day of the Spokane School District’s summer school program, several passengers on a school bus landed in a hospital. The bus they were in crashed at a busy intersection. It was reported that the accident appeared to have been the result of driver negligence. The incident occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. on a recent Monday.

According to an accident report prepared by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the bus — carrying 14 students to summer school — was traveling along Highway A near Saddlebrook when it attempted to cross U.S. 65. The bus driver allegedly failed to yield to an oncoming pickup truck and pulled directly into its path. The collision that followed caused injuries of varying severity to the students and the driver of the pickup truck.

Reportedly, serious injuries were suffered by an 18-year-old girl, while two other students — ages 18 and 14 — suffered moderate injuries. Two more students were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. MSHP said other students were taken for medical evaluation by some of the parents. The 45-year-old pickup truck driver’s injuries were reported to be serious.

The parents of the injured students along with the seriously injured driver of the pickup will be entitled to pursue financial relief by filing personal injury claims in a Missouri civil court. The bus driver, the owner of the bus and the driver’s employer may be named as defendants in such claims. However, before the court considers the entry of any monetary judgments, negligence on the part of the defendant will have to be established. Once financial liability has been formally established by appropriate proof, documented claims for out-of-pocket and non-economic losses will be adjudicated.

Source: kspr.com, “School bus crash in Christian County seriously hurt 1 student, others less seriously“, Chris Replogle, Gene Hartley, May 23, 2016