At least five people were killed and about 60 people were rushed to area hospitals with serious injuries following a catastrophic tour bus accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike before dawn on Sunday. 100 miles of the heavily traveled Pennsylvania Turnpike was shut down in both directions for an extended period of time as a result of the fatal roadway calamity.
The chain-reaction accident happened at about 3:30 Sunday morning when a tour bus traveling from New York City to Cincinnati hit a roadway embankment as the attempted to maneuver a turn on a curve. Immediately after the tour bus collided with the embankment, two semi-trucks crashed into the bus and each other. The 18-wheelers were operated by FedEx and UPS. A yet to be determined number of passenger cars then collided into the growing pileup.
The five fatalities were two passengers and the driver on the ill-fated tour bus. One of tour bus passengers killed in the massive collision was a 9-year old girl. In addition, the operator of the UPS truck and one other UPS employee in that rig were killed. 24 hours after the accident, investigators had not ruled out the prospect that others might die as a result of their injuries. However, as of Monday morning the number of reported fatalities remained at five.
Investigation into Pennsylvania Tour Bus Accident Underway
The investigation into the Pennsylvania tour bus accident is ongoing and involves the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and local officials. Investigators speculate that it could take weeks if not months to fully ascertain the underlying cause or causes of the accident. Investigators reported that they would be using tracking devices in the tour bus and semis as part of their effort to reconstruct the accident. They will also closely inspect the vehicles involved in the accident.
Understanding that the Pennsylvania tour bus accident investigation is only beginning, there tend to be some common initial causes of this type of accident. As mentioned, the tour bus collided with an embankment in the midst of making a turn on a downhill grade. This set of facts leads to logical speculation that the underlying initial cause of the turnpike disaster might include:
- Tour bus moving at a speed not suitable to conditions (nighttime and on a downhill curve)
- Tour bus driver inattention or distraction
- Tour bus drive fatigue
- Tour bus drive impairment (alcohol or drug use)
Once more, it is important to stress that no final conclusions have been reached regarding the initial underlying cause of the accident. Moreover, other drivers may have contributed to the larger chain reaction that stemmed from the initial impact between the tour bus and the embankment. For example, the one or another of the semi drivers might have been inattentive or fatigued at the time of the collision, that state contributing to the large-scale accident.
The shocking reality is that tour bus accidents and semi-truck accidents are fairly regular occurrences on streets and highways in the United States. These types of accidents oftentimes do stem from inattentive driving, distracted driving, fatigued driver, impaired driver, mechanical breakdown, or a combination of these factors.
If you or a loved one have been injured in an incident like the Pennsylvania tour bus accident, you best protect your vital legal rights by promptly, proactively seeking legal counsel. A tour bus accident from The Doan Law Firm stands ready to assist you. A nationwide law practice, our firm has offices across the country, including in Philadelphia. You can reach our Philadelphia your bus accident injury lawyer team by calling (267) 805-0000. Our offices are conveniently located at:
The Doan Law Firm
1600 Market Street
Suite 3600
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
(267) 805-0000
If you’re located elsewhere in the country and need assistance from a tour bus accident lawyer, contact our firm any time of the day or night by calling (800) 349-0000. We can schedule an initial consultation and case evaluation at any one of our offices or arrange a virtual appointment online. There is no charge for an initial appointment and case evaluation with a tour bus accident lawyer from our firm.
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