Bus, Train Collide on McDuff Ave. in Jacksonville, Florida; One Injured

JACKSONVILLE, FL. – According to a news story reported online at news4jax.com, a bus and a train collided on McDuff Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida, causing injuries to one person. The bus was owned by Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), and the train was owned by Amtrak.*  

The accident occurred in the early morning at a rail crossing on McDuff Avenue. An Amtrak Auto Train somehow crashed into a JTA bus at the crossing around 6:40 a.m. The circumstances of the accident are not yet totally clear. Surveillance footage reportedly shows that the railroad crossing arm came down after the bus had approached the tracks. The arm was resting on the bus’s roof following the crash.

News 4 Jax reports that 466 passengers were on the train, and nine passengers were on the bus. No passenger from either was injured. However, News 4 Jax states that the driver of the bus, who has not been identified, was injured and taken to a local hospital by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The driver was reportedly treated and released the same day.

A spokesperson for JTA stated that the bus driver had been placed on unpaid leave for the duration of its internal investigation. The spokesperson indicated that it would be cooperating with authorities to determine what happened and whether the bus driver was in violation of procedures or traffic rules. 

News 4 Jax reports that this was the second incident in Jacksonville in two weeks in which a JTA bus had become stuck under a rail crossing arm and the fourth incident in three weeks involving a JTA bus. 

Accident News is a driver safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Source:https://www.news4jax.com/traffic/jfrd-bus-driver-injured-during-train-crash-in-murray-hill