Truck Driver Facing Charges After Crashing into School Bus in Columbus, North Carolina

DELCO, NC- Robesonian.com writes that a truck driver crashed into a school bus this week in Columbus. The collision injured ten individuals, all of whom were on the school bus. Police charged the trucker for failing to reduce his speed. A second truck, which was a FedEx delivery vehicle, was also involved in the wreck. The investigation into what transpired is still underway.*

Reports indicate that the injuries included broken bones and concussions. There were two adults on board and several four and five-year-old children. The children have all now been released from the hospital.

The bus was on US 74 at the time of the crash and had pulled over to stop and pick up a child. The trucker failed to slow down as he approached the bus. The driver tried to swerve out of the way but collided with the back of the school bus, causing it to overturn. A FedEx truck then also failed to slow down in time to avoid striking the bus a second time. 

Two of the victims were transported to the hospital by airlift; the rest went by ambulance. 

Large trucks take a long time to come to a complete stop and are difficult to maneuver. Drivers operating these vehicles sometimes work shifts of up to eleven hours at a time. In order to operate a semi, the trucker must be alert, and yet, such long stretches behind the wheel mean that these drivers are often fatigued. When large trucks cause crashes, the damage can be devastating. Semis weigh more than twenty times as much as passenger vehicles. 

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.robesonian.com/news/130678/trucker-charged-in-columbus-county-school-bus-accident and https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/large-trucks