Posted in Bus Accident,Wrongful Death on May 25, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board is blaming a fatigued bus driver, a negligent bus operator that continued operations when it had no business doing so, and a federal trucking agency that failed to oversee any of this, for a fatal bus accident that killed 4 people last year.
The accident involved a bus that was on its way from North Carolina to Virginia, when it crashed into a cable barrier and flipped over. Four people died, and more than 49 were injured in the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board believes that this was an accident that was entirely preventable.
The bus was operated by Sky Express Inc., a company that had been put through several federal inspections, many of which it failed. Inspectors from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had found a number of safety issues with the operator, but had failed to pull Sky Express off the streets. In fact, on the day of the accident, Sky Express was operating on an additional temporary extension, that had been granted to it by the agency.
After the fatal accident, the company’s operating authority was withdrawn by the FMSCA, but the action was too little and far too late for the 4 people who died in the Virginia accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now blaming a combination of factors that merged to result in this accident. The driver had had very little sleep in the 72 hours before the accident, and Sky Express did not have the right procedures in place to ensure safe operations of its fleet. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a federal body that is entrusted with the responsibility of pulling unsafe commercial carriers off the streets, failed to do so. If you or a loved one have been involved in a bus accident and need legal representation visit: www.zanerhardenlaw.com.
