YEEHAW JUNCTION, Fla. -- A church van carrying parishioners crashed returning from Disney's Universal Studios on Saturday July 17, 2010, killing one passenger and injuring 16 others. The Florida Highway Patrol has reported that the driver of the church bus lost control, causing the van to flip and hit a guard rail. A 68-year-old passenger, Paulette Noel from Pompano Beach, died at the scene. The driver and numerous other passengers were seriously hurt.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident. However, preliminary reports indicate that the driver lost control of the Ford van. The van apparently swerved, rotated counterclockwise on the highway, rolled over and eventually came to rest after hitting a guardrail. The woman who was killed was partially ejected out a side window desite having her seatbelt on. Some preliminary questions are as follows:
- It is unclear whether the driver of the church van had his Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Typically, a van used to carry 15 or more passengers is required to have a CDL. IF the driver of the van was negligent in operating the van, the Church's insurance company will be responsible for all injuries and damages suffered by the victims.
- Many full size van's are prone to roll over on the road surface because they are unstable. Product liability lawsuits have been successfully brought against Ford for the roll-over propensity of some of their full sized vans. Our lawyers are currently investigating to determine which make and model of the Ford van was being driven to determine whether a product lability lawsuit against Ford Motor company is appropriate.
- There may have been too many people on the bus.We are currently investigating the make and model of the Ford van, and whether any conversions of the van occurred.
Our attorneys are investigating the Florida church bus accident. If you have been injured in this accident, contact a bus accident attorney by calling 866.936.7447.
People don't understand why come the high top mini buses don't have seat belts. Its because there not suppose to be running at high speeds and they were made only to shuttle people from one place to the next locally not out of state.
Posted by: mike | October 13, 2010 at 12:01 PM
This is very sad to hear. I'm surprised that I didn't see this on the local news.
Posted by: Red Coach Bus | August 24, 2010 at 03:42 PM