4 Pennsylvania School Bus Accidents In One Week

In less than a week, there were four separate school bus wrecks in Pennsylvania – with dozens of students being rushed to hospitals.

Contributing factors included inclement weather, hazardous road conditions, decreased visibility due to shorter days and increased holiday traffic.

There were 121,312 reportable traffic wrecks in Pennsylvania in 2010, according to the state Department of Transportation. A total of 1,324 people were killed in Pennsylvania automobile crashes that year, and 88,000 were injured.

Following are summaries of the four school bus wrecks, all of which occurred in early December:

• 20 York County students taken to the hospital. The school bus they were riding in was struck from behind by a sports utility vehicle just after 7 AM on December 14. The extent of the injuries was unknown, but none of the students appeared badly hurt.
• Elementary school bus rear-ended. A 57-year-old Carlisle man drove his vehicle into the rear of a school bus just before 8:30 AM on December 12. Police said the man did not properly defrost the windshield of his vehicle, which still had frost on it when he collided with a bus picking up children for Crestview Elementary School. No injuries were reported.
• 27 young children on board. A 19-year-old driver struck the front of a bus, hit an embankment and rolled over at 8:25 AM on December 10. The bus driver saw the motorist’s vehicle approaching in an erratic fashion. No children were injured.
• Emergency crews rush to bus accident scene in Lebanon County. Three people were injured when a bus hit their car at 7:20 AM on December 11. The wreck occurred at an intersection. The school bus was not transporting any children at the time.

People who are injured or killed in an automobile accident in Pennsylvania caused by the negligence of another person may have a right to bring a lawsuit for money damages.