Important News from Your Texas Accident Lawyer
Coach USA Passenger Bus Rear-ends Pickup on U.S. 59, Hospitalizing 8
Posted on Nov 12, 2011
The Cleveland, TX injury attorneys at Denena & Points send their best wishes for recovery to the injured victims of the Coach USA passenger bus wreck that happened Friday afternoon. Our hopes and thoughts are with you for safe recoveries of your well-being.
The Coach USA bus was traveling on its route to Shreveport and Texarkana when it suddenly rear-ended a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Gary Rogers of Shepherd, TX. Gary Rogers recounted the events leading to the Coach USA passenger bus wreck in news reports. He says that traffic merging onto U.S. 59 at Washington Street had come to a complete stop because of a slow-moving SUV. Mr. Rogers said that the SUV had come to stop at a yield sign, so vehicles behind it were stopped as well. Gary Rogers' Chevrolet pickup truck stood among those stopped vehicles. He said that vehicles were changing lanes to get around the SUV that had stalled traffic when suddenly the Coach USA bus hit the rear of his pickup truck.
After striking Gary Rogers' truck, the bus reportedly veered off the highway, ran through a ditch, and came to rest in brush bordering the railroad tracks that parallel the east side of U.S. 59. Two passengers escaped the Coach USA passenger bus wreck by climbing through bus windows when they thought they smelled smoke. Rescue workers extracted the driver and the remaining 11 passengers from the wrecked bus through a window with the help of a ladder. 8 injured people, including bus driver Elsa Valladares, received transport to the Cleveland Regional Medical Center for injuries from the accident.
News accounts of the incident do not tell why the Coach USA bus failed to stop behind the traffic slowed by the SUV like the other vehicles. The news reports do not mention whether driver fatigue or driver distractions are thought to be factors in the Coach USA passenger bus wreck.
The Cleveland, TX injury attorneys at Denena & Points find that such bus accidents could well illustrate the dangers posed by the driver fatigue suffered by often overworked passenger bus drivers. In recent years, passenger buses have enjoyed increasing popularity for short trips around the country. Passenger bus companies have sought to ride the wave of popularity by asking drivers to work long hours. Many of these bus companies have long records of safety violations. Some have experienced other severe or fatal accidents.
Our hearts go out to the victims affected by this Coach USA passenger bus wreck, including the injured driver and Gary Rogers. Having been unexpectedly rear-ended twice myself by larger vehicles (though nothing so large as a coach bus), I know how such accidents can shake you up, even if you're uninjured and only the vehicle receives damage.
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