There are a number of special laws and regulations on the books to protect children who ride our state’s school buses. Flashing lights, stop gates and mandatory traffic halts all help to ensure the safety of Ohio’s children. Despite these safety measures, buses are still occasionally involved in traffic accidents.
This was the case last week when a school bus was struck by two other vehicles. The incident occurred in Franklin, and involved a school bus from Madison Local Schools. The bus was near the end of its route, carrying only six children.
At approximately 4 p.m., the bus stopped to drop off two students. One car stopped behind the bus; this car was then rear-ended by another vehicle. The front car then struck the back of the bus.
The road was closed after the collision. All six children were treated at the scene, then released to their parents; none required hospitalization. Among the two cars that were involved in the rear-end car accident, one person was injured, suffering injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
There is no word on the injured person’s current condition. Law enforcement officials are almost certainly investigating the incident to discover what caused the collision.
Rear-end accidents are often the fault of the rear car. This is because cars are generally expected to keep a safe following distance between themselves and the cars ahead of them; if the vehicle in front makes an emergency stop, drivers are expected to be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.
There is no telling exactly who was at fault in this accident, but additional details may become known in the future. In general, however, if a driver or passenger is injured by another driver’s carelessness, the injured party may be able to seek compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: Cincinnati.com, “1 person injured after accident involving school bus” No author given, Jan. 30, 2014