School buses are one of the safest modes of transportation for children in Springfield and across the nation. However, they are not accident-free. School bus accidents do not happen as frequently as car and truck accidents. When they do occur, the children are the ones who often pay the price. According to NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, there were 1,172 school bus accidents from 2006 to 2015, which is four percent of the total number of motor vehicle collisions that occurred during that time.
School bus accidents are not limited to crashes. Recently, a 10-year-old middle school student was running late for the school bus. As he ran to catch up to the bus he slipped and fell. The bus driver did not know there was a student running behind the vehicle. The student fell under the bus’s wheels. The 39-year-old bus driver continued to drive and ran over the boy’s body before realizing he hit something. Currently, the accident scene and vehicle are under investigation by the Major Crash Team.
The accident was reported to police by a motorist who witnessed the incident while driving behind the school bus. The accident occurred on Crestview Street. The boy’s cause of death was ruled as blunt force trauma after being transported to a local area hospital by medical responders. The fourth grader was alive en route to the hospital.
School bus accidents are often very traumatic. The family of the above victim’s family may be able to recover compensation for their loss by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Source: FoxNews.com, “10-year-old Missouri boy dies after falling under school bus,” Madeline Faber, May 10, 2018