Two people tragically died on June 23rd, 2019 when a charter bus veered off Interstate 25 near Pueblo, Colorado. The bus was carrying 15 people including the driver. The passengers were members of a Catholic youth group from New Mexico.
5 adult chaperones along with 10 high school students of the Aquinas Newman Center at the University of New Mexico were returning from an annual Catholic youth conference in Denver called the Steubenville of the Rockies.
Charter Bus Hit a Bridge Embankment
The children along with their chaperones were heading home to Albuquerque when their bus veered off at mile-marker 109 north of Pueblo.
Sgt. Blake White of Colorado State Patrol told KKT-11 that the bus veered off the right side of the Interstate and collided with a bridge embankment. It shortly came to a stop after that.
The driver, who was 22 years old, was immediately ejected from the bus upon collision. He sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene of the accident. Authorities confirmed the death of another passenger – Jason Paul Marshall.
The accident is thought to have occurred due to the driver suffering from a medical episode or a seizure of some sort.
4 Children Hurt Among 13 Injured
The Colorado charter bus crash left at least 4 children injured out of all 13 surviving passengers. A medical helicopter flew a critically injured passenger to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs.
Other 12 were transferred by paramedics to different area hospitals via ambulance. Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo confirmed treating four children out of six crash victims brought to them.
St. Mary Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo also reported treating six victims. All victims’ conditions were stable by Monday morning.
Common Causes of Bus Accidents
Any cross country bus accident attorney will have you know that bus accidents are a lot of like car accidents. There is always a cause for their occurrence. However, the similarity ends there. Unlike car accidents, there may be a third party at fault in accidents involving coaches – the bus company.
It is common for bus drivers to spend long periods of time at the wheel due to tight schedules. This can result in tiredness and fatigue, which may decrease decision making and slow reaction times. Lack of sleep may also lead to medical conditions, such as seizures and other episodes.
A bus company can be directly held negligent if they have not trained or vetted the driver properly. It is prudent that victims and their families meet a cross country bus accident lawyer without too much delay before settling for an amount or filing a claim.