Police Charge Truck Driver Who Crashed into School Bus in Columbus County, North Carolina

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC- Wect.com writes that a driver operating a semi-truck collided with a school bus earlier this week in Columbus County. The driver is now facing charges for his actions.*

At the time of the crash, there were eight students on board the bus along with two adults. The school bus was in the westbound lanes of US 74/76 and stopped to pick up a student. All ten occupants on the bus were transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries. 

Police say that the trucker took his eyes off the road because he was reaching to pick up a cigarette he had dropped when he hit the bright yellow bus. A FedEx truck then also collided with the bus, causing the vehicle to roll over several times. The two adults on the school bus were transported to the hospital via airlift. 

Police charged the truck driver with failing to reduce speed. Additional charges are likely pending the outcome of the investigation. 

Officers stated that responding to severe crashes is difficult, especially when they involve children, but that it is an unavoidable part of the job. 

According to residents in the area, vehicles travel through at around 65 to 70 miles per hour, leaving little time to react in the event of an emergency. 

The images from the scene of the crash show a badly mangled school bus with severe damage to the rear driver’s side. The bus is in the grass on the shoulder of the roadway. 

School buses are designed to be the safest vehicles on the road, and yet an average of four to six children die in fatal school bus accidents each year. 

Accident News is a 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.

Sources:https://www.wect.com/2020/01/07/school-bus-wheeler-collide-columbus-co/ and https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/school-bus-safety