Texas police are now working on piecing together exactly what happened in a recent fatal charter bus accident in Dallas County. The bus was transporting a bus full of passengers to an out-of-state casino when the collision occurred on the President George Bush Turnpike. Two people lost their lives in the tragedy, and scores of victims were rushed to area hospitals. Regardless of whether criminal charges result from the crash, Texas personal injury and wrongful death claims are likely in its aftermath.
The accident happened on a weekday night in mid-April. For reasons that are not yet clear to investigators, the vehicle struck a barrier along the right hand side of the Turnpike. It then careened across the roadway and collided with another barrier. The bus rode up on top of that median divider and flipped onto its right side.
The bus driver, said to be 65 years old, was also hurt in the accident. Beyond the two fatalities, the injuries suffered by the other occupants of the bus were not detailed. Their updated medical conditions were also not reported. It was disclosed that the bus driver was involved in another fatal crash in 1998, though a Texas grand jury ultimately declined to indict the man for criminally negligent homicide.
Texas authorities expect the investigation of this fatal accident to be complex and time-consuming. The vehicle is owned by a charter company from the Dallas area. As the victims and their families struggle to move forward, each may benefit from gaining an understanding of their rights and responsibilities under Texas wrongful death and personal injury laws. If the evidence ultimately suggests that driver negligence was responsible for the collision, both the driver and his employer could face multiple civil lawsuits seeking reimbursement for the multitude of damages that appear to have resulted.
Source: CNN, “Driver in Texas bus crash involved in fatal 1998 accident,” Jason Morris and Lindsey Knight, April 12, 2013
