While bus safety is at the forefront of the media, now comes yet another report of a deadly bus crash.
Late Wednesday night, a Valley Transit Greyhound bus left Houston, Texas. The Greyhound bus was travelling en route on U.S. 77 to the border of Mexico. A pickup truck, turning onto the highway from a side street, sideswiped the passenger bus. The impact of the collision caused the bus to crash into a utility pole on the side of the highway.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, one passenger was killed and 21 others were injured in the crash. The injured passengers were transported to two different medical centers in nearby Victoria, Texas. Of those, 17 were treated and immediately released, while four remained in the hospital overnight — all in reportedly stable condition.
Passengers on the bus reported that the pickup truck seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving the bus driver with no time to react. The passenger who died from her injuries at the scene of the accident had been sitting at the front of the bus, near the door. Neither the driver of the bus nor the driver of the pickup truck were injured. A Texas State trooper did reveal that the pickup truck driver was issued a traffic ticket for failing to yield the right-of-way. The county district attorney’s office is still deciding whether additional charges should be filed against the driver.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “1 passenger dies, 21 injured in SE Texas bus crash,” 5/12/11.