Bus crashes are often serious. They can involve multiple injuries and even deaths. Recently, a hockey team from Georgia feared the worst when their bus wrecked on an exit ramp.
The bus carrying the Columbus Cottonmouths flipped on an exit ramp in Illinois on the way to a game in Peoria earlier in the year.
The rollover accident occurred in Morton, Illinois. More than 20 players were treated for injuries.
The charter bus was carrying the Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League to a game to play the Peoria Rivermen.
Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. The team issued a statement saying:
“All players have been accounted for and have been transported to a local hospital to determine the extent of the injuries. We can confirm that there seem to be no life-threatening injuries to players, staff or personnel.”
Columbus Cottonmouths Coach and General Manager Jerome Bechard later gave an interview to the Ledger-Inquirer.
hockey bus from Georgia wrecks in Illinois
He said the team was “in God’s hands.” Bechard said goalie Brandon Jaeger, equipment manager Mike Nash and bus driver Wayne Allen sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries.
He admitted the situation could have been much worse and said the team was “banged up but blessed.”
Rollover bus accidents are often very serious and occur more than we might think.
In April, in Idaho, a school bus carrying 39 Carey Junior High students and three adults rolled over on U.S. 26, injuring at least 14 children.
Some of the injuries were reported to be “substantial,” Lincoln County Sheriff Rene Rodriguez said, although none were thought to be life-threatening.
The crash occurred just west of Richfield as the junior high students headed to a track meet in Gooding, reported Magicvalley.com.
The 67-year-old driver was heading westbound when he went off the right shoulder of the road, overcorrected, and rolled the bus, Idaho State Police said.
Five students who were hurt were taken to hospitals by helicopter and seven in ambulances, according to police. The less seriously injured were taken to hospitals in personal vehicles.
In March, six students were injured in a school bus crash in Cobb County in Georgia. We also noted a serious church bus accident in Georgia that killed one and injured 20.
When a bus rolls over causing injuries a driver, a charter bus company or another driver may be liable. Call the Law Offices of Michael West at (404) 913-1529.