Fatal Truck-Bus Crash in Wis. 10/17

[simon says]

Anyone have any info on the crash near Eau Claire on a Sun. am early? The driver of the truck overturned and one of several buses carrying band members slammed into it. The 78 year old bus driver and four others were killed, and 29 injured. The truck driver, 22, driving wholesale food from Munster, IN. to St. Paul, was driving on a suspended license for failure to pay a speeding ticket just three weeks earlier.
Point: media and local prosecutors want to scapegoat him and all but have him tried and convicted. Local county prosecutor ruminated about reckless homicide. Just info- not looking for wisecracks about regular truck drivers... Why is the truck driver always at fault and what is a 78 year-old doing behind the wheel of a chartered bus involved in intra-state commerce? Landline Online had two related briefs on WI. older drivers and the accident.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

I can't find any info on that crash in Land Line. Of course the trucker is going to get hit for the accident. Didn't you know that their biggest thing is "If you weren't there, that wouldn't have happened."? Their reason for this one will be that he wouldn't have been there if he would've obeyed the law and not driven on his suspended liscence. Our liscenses are a touchy subject... and anyone playing with them, as he did, should pay the concequences. But homicide is a little over the top. They dare not look into the bus drivers' age, as that would open a can of worms within the zombie community.

 

[trhoades]

I understand your point of view, but if the driver had a suspended license he should not have been on the road. And I am assuming he had it suspended for a reason. Just like driving when you are out of hours. In the eyes of the justice system, if you had not been on the road then the accident would not have occurred.

The only possible excuse would be that he was on the road when the suspension notice came in the mail and he has not been home to check it.

I think I read an article about the driver can not be found. I don't know if that has changed since I red it though. I think this driver sounds a bit shady if you ask me. Anytime someone has a suspended license, it usually leads me to believe he is not that professional of a driver to begin with. I thought most of us were in agreement that we don't want these drivers on the road with us. What if it had been you that was involved in this accident with him? Wouldn't you be P.O.ed when you found out that his license was suspended? That is if you had lived. Just my two cents on the subject.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

There has to be more to it than what's on here. How does a liscence get suspended for a speeding ticket?

My ex-girlfriend's deceased hubby died as a result of stumbling (drunk) into the middle of I-94, and getting hit by a t/t. The driver had been driving for 14 hours straight. The jury in the civil suit didn't give her a dime. The point I'm trying to make is... if you're going to play the game for one driver who shouldn't have been there, you should play it for all or none.

JBHunt tried playing that with me when a pickup ran into my tandems. I wasn't illegal, yet their modus operendi is that all accidents are preventable because you are in THAT spot at THAT time. What a crock

 

[Panzer]

>There has to be more to it than what's on here. How does a
>liscence get suspended for a speeding ticket?
,>


<SNIP>

The truck drivers license was suspended because the dummy did not pay his fine for a speeding ticket received in Indiana.





I was ironicly driving by the crashsite in WI (MM 84 West bound on I-94) while listening to the NTSB press conference Monday. Here is what has came to light:

1. The bus driver was not wearing corrective glasses/contacs as required.

2. Air breaks were "seriously" out of adjustment. Bus would have been placed OOS if it was inspected.

3. And more interesting to me, is that the truck drivers laptop was taken to be examined partically the GPS logs. Now the GPS logs can be compared to your HOS logs to make sure they match up, and any little fudging in your HOS logs can be used against you by law enforment or worse, lawyers in lawsuits if you are in an accident. Indeed, your laptop records a lot of data which might be used to establish a timeline, like when you were and where you were connected via WiFi/EVDO or even when you were just playing games and such. Date and timestamps are everywhere in your computer, recording what you did and when.

4. The truck overturned after going off the road (driver wannted to make take a break) and driving on the shoulder and grass for 500 feet before getting back onto the highway at 66 MPH. No doubt he was going too fast and turned too sharply, but this is my guess.

Of course, the moral of the facts is to run 100 percent legal or it might be used against you. You also have to wonder if the bus driver had been wearing his glasses and had good breaks, weather anyone would have been killed. The accident would have probably happend, but he might have seen the overturned truck early enough and with good breaks, there would just have been a damaged bus and minor injuries.

In any case, the lawyers are going to have a field day. Sueing the school, bus company, brake maker (automatic air brake adjuster was not working at time of crash) probably, bus driver, truck driver, and of course, Whole Foods. In light of this, newbie drivers still wonder why insurance compaines are so anal about past speeding tickets for new hires.

Summary online at:
http://www.spectatornews.com/media/paper218/news/2005/10/27/CampusNews/Brakes.Were.Faulty.In.Bus.Crash-1036111.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.spectatornews.com}>

Better non subscription at:
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/12994016.htm

 

[miko]

And as far as I know, they booked him.
He pleaded not guilty.
Whole story beats me.

miko

 

[greg334]

Sorry for the out burst but a few of you know how I feel about Buses.

The driver of the bus should be brought up on charges (nothing less than murder),
Chippewa Trails should be fined big time and the insurance underwriters should start telling these bus companies to put governors on these buses. It is too bad that bus companies allow their drivers, a few who don’t have an idea how to drive in the first place, to speed.

Beside all that, I can’t stand buses traveling at high speeds, even 60 MPH pisses me off. I have be cut off, pushed out of the lane and even bumped (while stopped) by a bus. I can’t understand why bus safety is low on the list of safety issues that states face.

Who cares if they have a schedule to meet, my safety and the safety of my family is far more important than their schedule. If someone has to make it to Chicago from Toledo in 4 hours, than they should fly.

 

[terryandrene]

Thanx to Panzer for the good research so we could see the facts [as reported in the press!]

Couldn't agree more with Greg. Drivers of buses, and other non-automobile passenger carrying vehicles, are among the fastest group on the highways. The general public is always saddened by the deaths and injuries of passengers in these vehicles that are involved in accidents but where are the MADD and PATT and other truck hating groups when buses are involved. Saddly, the headlines in the above accident alluded to the major cause of the accident was bad brakes; no mention of a bad, inattentive and negligent driver.

 

[Crazynuff]

I reard on Tuckers Radio Network that his license was suspended because he wrote a bad check for the speeding ticket . The bus driver had been on duty 13 hours but was a half hour from completing the trip .

 

[ddperki]

Was the truck drivers age a mistype? 22 years old? 25 is minimum for CDL!

 

[simon says]

Thanks a lot Panzer and to others who have some info. I have relatives in the area who are all bent out of shape and can't see the woods for the trees. I knew the driver worked for Whole Foods out of Munster, IN. (courtesy of Landline Online, who gave his age as 22, on or about 10/19) but didn't know the bus co. name. Someone on the CB said the air brakes were out of adjustment and I was looking for confirmation.
I agree with Greg: if Greyhound is any indicator, seems buses always drive as fast as possible and often have critical tail or stop lights out. BY THE WAY: 78 eight year old bus driver cannot be sued, he went straight to the funeral home...along with the band director, his wife, an assistant teacher, and a grandaughter. I have a special gratitude for my high school band director. Maybe I should bring my horn along and play taps once in a while.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

No... 21 is the minimum age.

 

[trhoades]

Yeah it's 21 for a CDL, but most insurance companies won't insure someone under 25. I also agree about the bus drivers. I was on a greyhound in Jan '03, going from Detroit to Connecticut. I was on my way to pick up a tractor that another driver abandoned. It had to be the worst snow I've seen in awhile. The driver of the bus was driving a good 70 down I80 in PA. I was scared to death. I could feel the rear end of the bus was greasy as hell, and driver was trying to pound out her schedule. When we arrived in NY, I kissed the ground. LOL.

It is also a shame that this young driver has thrown his life away because he couldn't keep his checking account together.

 

[Broompilot]

Some great research and comments.

13 hours is legal for a bus driver in my understanding of the HOS but not us.

Seriously when is the last time anyone has seen a bus traveling at the legal speed. The only company I know that runs their buses legal is Christan Tours out of Newton NC. Every other name is hauling ##### and changing lanes with children on board.

But a more serious question. If you were a parent and you saw that your childs driver was almost 80 would you not raise a flag or even let your child on the bus? Parents who will come into a windfall here deserve as much of the blame as the driver.

So the truck driver bounced a check. Did he know it bounced two weeks earlier? I love it when the bank or tellamarkers want to give me something or expect I come home every night I DON'T so I do not see my mail. He probably did not know but maybee he did, look at it from a driver who stays out three or more weeks at a time.

Its a shame it happened but someone other than the driver needs to put under a microscope inluding the parents.

PS I volunteer for that Jury.......