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Thirty-three high school students were injured after their school bus crashed into the woods along New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway on Monday afternoon.
By Monday evening, everyone hurt in the crash was evaluated and released from local hospitals, with only four students suffering more than minor injuries.
“The bus is about to tip over and I thought I was going to die,” said Infinity Watson, a student at Charter Tech who was on the bus at the time of the crash, which occurred just before 3:30 p.m.
State police said that the driver lost control of the bus, veering off the parkway and into trees on the side of the road. The bus left deep skid marks in the grass on the side of the parkway.
It appeared the crash was caused after an outer-rear wheel came off the bus while it was still in motion, investigators told NBCPhiladelphia.com. An inner-rear tire was also found to be attached to a bent axle. Investigators were still trying to determine the exact cause of the crash.
Tom Dugan, the owner of the bus company Safety Bus, confirmed that the bus recently needed re-inspection after an earlier annual inspection revealed problems that needed correcting.
Chopper 10 / NBC Philadephia
A bus carrying 36 New Jersey high school students careened off the Garden State Parkway on Monday afternoon, crashing into the woods on the side of the road.
Driver praised
Parents and students on the bus praised the driver for swerving off the roadway instead of into traffic.
“My daughter did say the bus driver did everything she could not to run into a car or hit the biggest tree possible,” said parent Michelle Griffin.
All of the 36 students on board, as well as the driver, were taken to local hospital. Four students refused medical evaluation and left with their parents.
Most of the injuries were described as bumps and bruises, with some students complaining of neck and back pain.
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Sounds like the bus driver did a great job. Could have been alot worse.
At least it wasn't the driver's fault. I am sure I would crash, too, if a wheel came off my car while I was driving it. Only I would probably panic. This bus driver did not panic, and that's why the 33 students are injured, but still alive.
kathleen
1. read past headline
2. comprehend same
3. post
Tramp the TROLL
"...confirmed that the bus recently needed re-inspection after an earlier annual inspection revealed problems that needed correcting."
So you put a sick bus on the road?
Do you want tax cuts or money for schools? NJ voted for tax cuts.
And you thought the three little pigs were just about bacon. Cheap is just that.......cheap.
Nice name..Safety Bus Company.
The bus, which is owned by the Safety Bus of Absecon, failed a state inspection last month.
Bus No. 20057 failed inspection on Oct. 18 but later passed on re-examination, according to a report on N.J.’s Motor Vehicle Commission’s School Bus Inspection Reporting System. The bus failed requirements for a seat, a dome light, side walls, light clearance and condition of the tires, according to the state.
dont ya just love a great oxymoron.
Tramp the TROLL
Just wondering----Do they have seat belts in School buses?
a---rand Just
wondering----Do they have seat belts in School buses?
Actually New Jersey is one of six states requiring buses to have seat belts on them. With California, Florida, Louisiana, New York and Texas being the other ones.
Todd-4117082
OH man I see a money making class action Law suit....Inspection revealed problems that needed correcting and the bus was put on theroad Before it was certified as Safe... What is wrong with thispicture??
If you notice, the article said a reinspection. Having driven a county vehicle myself for many years which required constant inspections, I can tell you what that process means. You take your
vehicle in for the routine inspection. They find something which needs fixing, so you schedule the appointment for getting that item/items repaired and put your vehicle in the shop and use another
one which has already passed inspection. Then after your primary vehicle has had the repairs, it is re-inspected again. To ensure the item/items that failed the first time have been taken care of.
Without the safety inspection passing, the vehicle cannot be allowed to get registered, period. All that the article is pointing out is that the bus had failed something in the first inspection, so it had to be reinspected a second time, to address what normally wouldn't have been an issue. Like when I went to get my car registration renewed and had my safety and emissions done. I failed because I had a crack in my exhaust pipe by the muffler. Once it wasrepaired, I had it reinspected and passed with flying colors.
The issue with this bus doesn't mean the bus company is at fault. Tires have been known to blow out due to inherent problems in the manufacturing process, something they hit, due to wear or road conditions or combinations. If students were not wearing their seat belts, it will fall back onto them, and not the driver. There was also another driver on board with the students in the rear of the bus.Thank goodness the driver in control of the bus kept a very level head. She saved lives.
The state may require seatbelts in a school bus, but are students required to wear them??????
OH man I see a money making class action Law suit....Inspection revealed problems that needed correcting and the bus was put on the road Before it was certified as Safe... What is wrong with this picture??
Profit over protection of Children....Child Endangerment by the Bus Company Owners who KNEW the bus had Problems and still chose to use it to ferry students....How many counts of Child Endangerment is that..30?? 40?? More.....While Prison should be in Someones future ( It would be in YOUR future if you endangered a child Knowingly) This Company will likely get a Fine and a slap on the wrist...Fine = Cost of doing business.
How well connected is the Owner is what will likely determine the Justice in this case!!
Profits over protection of people...sounds very Republican to me!! Just like the Hospital under management of Bain Capital that is currently being investigated for medicare fraud AGAIN. Only this time for implanting stents into people who did not need them so the hospital could collect the Medicare funds. Another fine example of profits over people. Health care is one industry profits and investors should not be put over the health, safety and well-being of people...NEVER!!
yes Julie....... this is CLEARLY a political issue.................
You know, it is kind of sad that we live in a society that the first thing people think about are law suits. The article said the buss needed re-inspection and not that it did not pass inspection and taken out of service. If there were drastic things wrong with that buss, the inspectors should have taken it out of service. Still, I bet there are a bunch of lawyers licking their chops--if they can't go after the buss company, they will surly go after the inspectors.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured.
I think I see from some of the comments why so many companies are getting out of this kind of business because every thing is all about a law suit. What a sad state of affairs when all we see if FREE money.
Free money is likely part of it, but the crux of the issue is that people don't listen to things until it costs them money. Being fined by a regulatory body or being sued for negligence is pretty much the same thing to a company.
Owning/operating a business is filled with risk and responsibilities. If you aren't willing to own up to the responsibilities, then you should probably be considering another vocation.
If you put the left hub holding the tire & wheel on the right side to hold a wheel and tire the nuts on the wheel can and will come loose making the bus lose a tire. This mistake sometimes happen after a brake job. Glad none of the children died.
I once got a check for $1.50 from a class action law suit against a utility company. Since then, my utility bill has gone up over 20%. I wonder how much the lawyers made off of that one?? I'm not saying there should not be penalties for wrong doing, but come on folks, some of these frivolous law suits end up just costing everyone a lot more and the worst part about it, is that most all judges are lawyers first and we all know what kind of people end up on jury's.
That's often the case in class actions. The claimants get little while the lawyers get richer. Lawyers know this and that's why you see so many ads on TV seeking class action claimants: "you might be entitled to a financial reward." The more they get on the bandwagon, the more money in the lawyers' pockets. Lawyers' rewards should be limited by law. But that will never happen, as the people making the laws are often lawyers. It's a lose-lose situation for consumers.
The age old question, "If a tree falls in the forest"..........You may not hear it, but someone is getting sued.
I have neck pain, back pain, leg pain, OMG I'm in so much pain right now (with a smile on my face)? ChaChing!
I wonder what idiotic remark you would have made had there been any fatalities? Everything isn't about money.
Joe, google sarcasm if not go to your local library and find a dictionary. There's a definition for it.
Awesome job bus driver! That bus had to be a handful to steer.
Glad that everyone was okay... and that people still name their children after mathematical terms.
Were the parents supposed to check with you first to see if the name was ok?
My daughter has a name that is a mathematical term (but she was named after a great grandmother) and she became a math and science teacher. People sometimes live up to their name.
It appeared the crash was caused after an outer-rear wheel came off the bus while it was still in motion, investigators told NBCPhiladelphia.com. An inner-rear tire was also found to be attached to a bent axle. Investigators were still trying to determine the exact cause of the crash.
News flash, the tire fell off...
You cannot put a price on safety or the well being of our kids,some companies need to get some common sense,or get out of the business!!!
"Tom Dugan, the owner of the bus company Safety Bus, confirmed that the bus recently needed re-inspection after an earlier annual inspection revealed problems that needed correcting." - Safety Bus needs to be reviewed! Children's' lives are in danger if there are more buses that have not been 'corrected'.
Even though it is not in the written portion of the article, this happened in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
If the owner ignored required repairs, he deserves a stiff penalty.
The driver did REAL GOOD in my opinion. Often when an outer dual comes off, it'll get wedged into the bodywork of the rig. (At freeways speeds)
A school bus is very heavy built, so that large tire/wheel assembly, which on a bus is a 22.5" wheel and 48" diameter tire weighing about 250 lbs. will rock the bus up to the point of flip-over because the heavy bodywork and fender area will not crumple and give way like perhaps a flimsy built motorhome would.
I'm thinking heads might roll in the bus barn after the investigation gets completed. Wheel/tires do NOT just come off for no reason.
As for the bent axle, that no doubt happened during the accident, not before. A bent axle would have made the bus impossible to drive due to bouncing.
And we still refuse to mandate set belts on school buses - stupid !
JP from Ma,
"And we still refuse to mandate set belts on school buses - stupid !"
Yes, I always wondered why school buses do not have seat belts. It seems they should.