Avoidable school bus accident leaves children dangling

In September 2006, a school bus accident in St. Paul, MN left parents wondering what went wrong – and thankful that it wasn’t much worse. The bus was carrying about 40 students home from the Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School when it turned up a steep hill. According to the bus driver, the engine cut out and the brakes failed causing the bus to roll backwards. Unable to stop, the bus jumped the curb and continued to roll until it reached the guardrail of Interstate 94, its back end dangling in the right lane of rush hour traffic.

However Minnesota State Patrol investigators painted a more ominous picture of the school bus accident. According to their review, the bus was low on gas despite the fact that the bus line requires at least a half tank of gas at all times. Even more puzzling is the fact that the investigators found the driver had never even tried to use the brakes, and that they were in good working order.

Local media learned that the bus driver, who has since been fired, had only been driving school buses about three weeks before the accident. One TV news station also talked to some experts who said that the bus never should have been traveling on such a steeply inclined road.

Every year, about 23 children across the country are killed while traveling on or near a school bus. On average, six children die on school buses and the remaining 17 die in pedestrian accidents such as crossing the road to or from the bus. Statistics show that school buses are actually one of the safest vehicles on the road, and children are eight times more likely to die in a car accident on the way to school than die in a school bus accident. But as this incident in St. Paul illustrates, there are still ways to make transportation safer for our children.

If your child has been injured in a school bus accident, contact Jim S. Adler & Associates for a free case assessment. There may be negligence involving several different parties including the school, district or county board, the bus company, the bus driver, and other drivers, making the question of liability quite complicated. Jim S. Adler & Associates will help you protect your rights and that of your child, and secure the compensation you deserve. Call us directly, or click on the link on this page to submit your school bus accident case for a free case review.