Nebraska Bus Crash Injures 40 En Route to Denver
Approximately 40 people were injured in a Nebraska bus crash early Thursday morning. The accident occurred around 2 a.m. just outside of Gibbon and involved two semi-trailer trucks.
Before the bus crash, a semi overturned, blocking both westbound lanes of the I-80. A second truck clipped the vehicle, causing it to fall into a ditch. The Denver-bound bus then came upon the scene, swerved and crashed into the median.
Most injuries were minor, and passengers were able to board a second Burlington Trailways bus soon after.
Investigators aren't sure how long the first tractor-trailer had been blocking the road before the Nebraska bus crash, reports the Associated Press. There's also no explanation for why the bus driver and second truck driver were unable to stop.
Investigators will need to spend significant time determining these facts, as they relate directly to liability. If the crashes occurred within minutes of one another, then the drivers probably could not have stopped. The same goes for a roadway situation that prevented the drivers from seeing the overturned truck.
There's generally no liability when a driver could not have prevented a crash. Especially when it was not her conduct that caused it in the first place.
Speaking of which, the Nebraska bus crash does not seem to be the result of unsafe driving. The bus company has a clean record, according to federal transportation safety records. Bus driver Michelle Anderson also has not received a ticket or been in an accident during her 10 years with the company.
Related Resources:
- Bus Carrying 40 Crashes In Central Neb. (KETV)
- Negligence (FindLaw)
- Sky Express Bus Crash: 4 Crashes, 46 Violations (FindLaw's Injured)