Officials for the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) have been deployed to southern Illinois, the first step in what will likely be a months-long investigation into yesterday’s fatal Greyhound bus crash that tragically killed three people and left more than a dozen seriously injured.
Greyhound Bus Was Headed to St. Louis with 30 Passengers
The July 12th accident occurred shortly before 2:00 a.m., as the Greyhound bus was headed west on Interstate 70 on its way to St. Louis from Indianapolis with 30 passengers aboard.
The bus veered off the roadway and sideswiped three tractor-trailers parked for the night along an exit ramp leading to the Silver Lake rest area near Highland, Illinois.
Three people Greyhound passengers tragically died in the crash. The Madison County Coroner’s Office has since identified those individuals.
Thirteen additional passengers and the Greyhound driver were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries, including four airlifted from the scene.
Illinois Greyhound Crash Likely Due to Driver Fatigue
The cause of yesterday’s Greyhound bus crash remains unknown, but several factors point to driver fatigue: a statement from one of the passengers, who told authorities that the bus driver drove over the rumble strips shortly before the crash, the time of the crash (2 am, which is during the “circadian dip”), the angle of departure off the roadway, and the bus driver’s failure to attempt any evasive maneuvers before crashing into the trucks parked off the roadway.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of accidents involving Greyhound that have raised safety concerns about the carrier and its oversight of its drivers in recent years. Our Greyhound Bus Accident Lawyers, for example, have successfully represented hundreds of Greyhound passengers after serious and fatal crashes, winning the largest verdicts and settlements in the company’s history.
We also obtained the first-ever court-ordered overnight sleep study of a Greyhound driver, confirming that he was suffering from severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and should not have been driving when he also veered off the road around 2:00 a.m. Our $12 million settlement stands as the #1 Largest Settlement in Greyhound’s History involving a fatigued driver and was covered by the CBS Morning Show, among other news outlets.
Speaking with KMOV-4 in St. Louis shortly after this latest crash, founder and Managing Partner Ryan Zehl asserted that Greyhound should be doing more to ensure its drivers are fit for the road.
“We expect companies to make sure that fatigued drivers, impaired drivers, intoxicated drivers aren’t behind the wheel of a bus or other commercial vehicle,” he said. “It shouldn’t be incumbent on a passenger to investigate whether their driver is fully rested and capable of safely operating the vehicle. We have to rely on Greyhound to do that, and I just don’t think it’s happening.”
NTSB Investigation Could Take Up to 2 Years
Fatigue and driver distraction are certainly causes the NTSB will be focusing on as it begins its investigation.
“Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again,” NTSB board member Tom Chapman said during a media briefing earlier today. “These are the first steps in a lengthy investigative process.”
Chapman added that the investigation could take as long as 24 months. However, the Board is able to issue emergency recommendations if any urgent safety issues are identified before the probe is completed.
Undefeated Greyhound Bus Accident Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here for a Free Consultation
Our Undefeated Greyhound Bus Accident Lawyers are also investigating yesterday’s Greyhound crash in southern Illinois and will post additional updates as new information becomes available.
We’ve successfully taken on the largest transportation companies and corporations in the world, winning billions and consistently recovering Record-Breaking Verdicts and Settlements on behalf of our clients.
If you or a loved one were injured or killed in connection with the I-70 Greyhound bus crash, our bus accident attorneys will commit whatever time and resources necessary to ensure you and your family obtains the maximum compensation possible for all of your injuries and losses.
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