Recently, police in Ocean Springs, Mississippi reported an accident that occurred when a school bus collided with a pickup truck. Authorities say the Ocean Springs school bus was carrying 41 middle and high school students at the time of the crash.
According to police, the accident took place just before 8 a.m. last Wednesday when the school bus smashed into the back of a small pickup truck. The truck was hauling lawn equipment in a small trailer. Police say the accident surprisingly led to only minor injuries for several students. Thankfully, none of the dozens of students on board were seriously hurt in the collision.
Though the students were lucky in this case, police say the bus crash marks the sixth such accident in southern Mississippi in a matter of several days. The issue is not limited only to the southern portion of the state; earlier in September there were three school bus accidents in the span of less than a week in central Mississippi.
The first accident left a 59-year-old man, Harold Nash, dead after a head-on accident with a school bus in Rankin County. Thankfully no students were on board at the time of the crash. That same evening there was another school bus crash in Copiah County. There were students on board the bus during the second accident, though none were seriously injured. Finally, the next morning a vehicle rear-ended a Clinton, MS school bus. Three students in that crash had to be taken to the hospital, but all have since recovered from their injuries.
Though none of the accidents this past week in Mississippi proved deadly, the fact is that bus crashes often do. According to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 19 children are killed each year in school bus accidents. School bus wrecks often prove dangerous because children on most buses across not only Mississippi, but the rest of the country, are without property safety restraints. The fact is most school buses lack the basic safety features found on even the most introductory level passenger vehicles. This lack of seat belts and airbags is just one of the reasons why bus accidents often result in serious injuries to young children.
School administrators in districts that have seen accidents say that they hope the crashes serve as important lessons to other drivers about how important it is to be cautious when driving near a school bus. Other drivers need to slow down and be on the lookout for sudden stops, young children and other issues that might contribute to an accident.
If you have been injured and think you may have a personal injury claim, please contact the Mississippi auto accident attorneys at Kilpatrick & Philley at 601-707-4669.
Source: “No major injuries reported after Ocean Springs bus accident,” by Patrick Ochs, published at SunHerald.com.
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Rankin County School Bus Crash Turns Deadly
Four Motorcyclists Airlifted After Two Separate Accidents In Tunica