Amtrak Train Crash in Washington State

Good People Wrongfully Killed

    Included in the eight people wrongfully killed in the Tennessee bus crash was, a Sunday school teacher who read to students at a nearby school, an engineer who paid for wells to be dug in Peruvian villages, and a couple who maintained commercial driver’s licenses so they could drive church members on bus trips; these were good people who's lives were ended short due to a terrible incident. When the front left tire of the church's bus failed the driver lost control and went through a cable barrier hitting a SUV and tractor-trailer. Was the crash the drivers fault or are there other facts that should be considered? One of the investigators said even though the driver had a commercial lisence and was trained to properly handle a vehicle should this type of thing occur, it would be near impossible to control a vehicle of such size (40,000 pounds). Instead of looking at the driver should the cable barrier be investigated? Was it made properly? The same investigator said that the barrier was not made to withstand a vehicle of such size, shouldn't it have been better made as most vehicles that travel on the highway are larger? If that barrier had been designed better would those eight people still be with their loved ones today? Maybe these cable barriers need to be upgraded and designed to actually prevent such an incident from occurring again, saving other lives.

    A crash of this size, eight killed and fourteen injured, would usually be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board; due to the government shut down they are unable to send investigators out to help as this was one of the cuts made by the government. Crashes happen all over the United States but have always had some type of assistance in the investigation. Why is this crash less important to the government? Some may feel that this is wrong and would like to know what could be done about this. We at Traverse Legal would recommend speaking to an attorney to help better understand what you could do.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/03/3249857/tennessee-bus-wreck-kills-6-from.html#storylink=cpy

Tennessee Bus Crash Still Not Under Proper Investigation

We are now told by The Tennessean  that the eighth wrongly killed victim, the driver of the tractor-trailer, has been identified as Mose Farmer, 66, of New Orleans.  Now three days after the horrific crash in Tennessee there still wont be a proper investigation. Why you might ask. Due to the government shutdown nearly all of the NTSB board’s 400 employees have been furloughed, including accident investigators. Meaning that the government doesn't find this aspect as important as others. Don't you think these wrongfully killed victims deserve the same investigation as others in the past? Family members want to know what happened, what went wrong, and why their loved ones are no longer with them today. The current investigators don't have these answers at this time. All they are currently able to tell us is that the front tire blew out causing the driver to lose control; also that the wire median barrier was not made to withstand the kind of weight that comes from a large vehicle such as a bus. Shouldn't the barrier be made to handle such weight as that is the majority of vehicles that do most of the highway traveling? Currently the investigators are looking over the bus to see if there is anything that was missed in the first investigation. They are also looking at the bus records, drivers records, and whether or not the wire barrier was up to code. Some may find this wrong and wish to speak to a Bus Accident Attorney to discuss what can be done.

Names Released of Tennessee Crash Victims

 

We are now told by WBTV that the names of the deceased in the Tenn. bus crash have been released as, the bus driver Randy Morrison,66, his wife Barbara Morrison,62, as well as others on the bus, Cloyce Matheny, Brenda Smith, Marsha McLelland and John Wright. Trent Roberts of Knoxville was the passenger from the SUV that was killed, the driver of the tractor-trailer has yet to be identified. All were pronounced dead by the time rescue was on the scene. Also released are the names of the injured bus passengers, four of which were airlifted to the hospital, eight people were transported by ambulance and two people were injured but not transported. Two of the injured were released from the hospital earlier today.

• 74-year-old Thomas L. Smith
• 70-year-old Joanna L. Elledge
• 72-year-old Benny Elledge
• 67-year-old Sandra Boyer
• 74-year-old Marvin Boyer
• 68-year-old Doris Swaim
• 68-year-old Steven Swaim
• 78-year-old Norma J. Hellard
• 62-year-old Beverly Wright
• 70-year-old Brenda Jolly
• 63-year-old Wanda Martin
• 64-year-old Ed Mclelland

It is still unclear exactly what happened as investigators are still talking with witnesses to determine if it was just a tire malfunction causing the driver to lose control or if there was more. The bus was not owned by a charter company but fully owned, operated and maintained by the Front Street Baptist Church.

 "Nothing will be overlooked, we will go over every possible scenario" said Sgt. Bill Miller with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. But still the National Transportation Safety Board will not be looking into the crash. Troopers said that the wire median barrier along I-40 westbound at mile marker 423 in Jefferson County, Tenn., just past the I-40/I-81 interchange was not made to handle the weight of the bus, shouldn't this be a requirement as a lot of larger vehicles are what travel on highways? Could it have possibly better protected those wrongly killed if it had been made to with hold the weight of a bus? By contacting a Bus Accident Attorney you could be better informed on your rights as a victim of this crash, or others like it.

"Young at Heart Ministry" Church Group In Tennessee Bus Crash Devastated

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Breaking News

Tennessee Bus Crash: Eight Killed and Fourteen Injured

Another Bus Accident / What was the Cause?

CNN is reporting that a group of senior members of The Young at Heart Ministry, from the Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville N.C., was on their way home from the 17th annual Fall Jubilee held in Gatlinburg, Tenn. on October second at about 2 p.m. when the front tire of their bus was believed to have blown out causing the driver to lose control. Involved in this crash along with the bus was a tractor-trailer and an SUV. Emergency response teams were at the scene in under five minutes but not soon enough to save the eight killed. Six of the eight were on the eastbound bus, one was the driver of the tractor-trailer, and one was of the three occupants of the SUV.

It is still unclear who was driving the bus, but the leading investigators plan to look into the driver and the vehicle's safety records. Due to the substantial burns of the deceased, authorities expect it to take a few days to identify the seven others killed as one has already been identified as 73-year-old John Wright. A forensic team is expecting to use dental records to identify the other wrongly killed victims. Authorities are still unsure what caused the tire to blow out. Families of the injured who have questions about their rights are advised to speak to a Bus Accident Attorney to help better understand what can be done.

 The National Transportation Safety Board is NOT sending anyone to investigate the crash as the government shut down all their highway investigators. Do you want to know why this deadly crash won't be properly investigated like all the others? Ask the government, as they are the ones making this decision to cutt the highway investigators. Do you feel like this is wrong and should be put to right? Ask a Bus Accident Attorney what can be done.

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