Last week, five students were injured when a tree fell onto a school bus in Greenville County. According to WLOS ABC News Channel 13, the incident happened on Wednesday afternoon at about 5:20 p.m. There were six Southside High School students on the bus at the time. The tree fell onto the bus near Old Grove Road and Gray Fox Trail in Piedmont. Five of the six students were transported to the hospital for treatment of injuries. No other injuries were reported on the scene. Although very little information has been released about this crash, initial reports indicate that a dead pine tree got blown over in the wind.
School Transportation Related Crash Facts
From 2006 to 2015, there were 1,313 people of all ages killed in school-transportation-related crashes.
On average, that’s 131 fatalities each year.
From 2006 to 2015, there were 301 school-age children killed in school-transportation-related crashes.
54 of those children were occupants of school transportation vehicles.
137 were occupants of other vehicles.
102 were pedestrians.
8 were cyclists.
34 percent of the school-age pedestrians killed in school-transportation-related crashes from 2006 to 2015 were 8 to 13 years old.
Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the school-age pedestrians fatally injured in school-transportation-related crashes were struck by school buses or vehicles functioning as school buses.
Improving School Bus Safety for Students
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a bus instead of travelling by car. School buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road. When it comes to school buses, the biggest danger is at the bus stop. The “Danger Zone” is the 10-foot bubble around the entire bus, where bus drivers may not easily see children. The NHTSA has several tips to help improve safety at bus stops.
Injuries Involving School Buses in Asheville
Although school buses are the statistically safest way for children to get to and from school, they’re not totally without risk. Parents and caregivers are urged to talk to kids about how to improve safety on the bus and at the bus stop. If your child has been injured on the school bus or at a bus stop in Asheville or in any of the Western North Carolina communities, contact the skilled and proven Personal Injury team at Davis Law Group, P.A. at 828-303-2842 for a free case consultation.